


Through the Frozen Heart

by Donttalktomeimfangirling (Jillian_k)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: M/M, figure skating AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-05 14:14:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 47,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13389537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jillian_k/pseuds/Donttalktomeimfangirling
Summary: From the very first moment Alexander Lightwood laid eyes on Magnus Bane, his whole world changed. Years later, now a decorated junior figure skater himself, an injury prevents him from participating in his senior debut. Considering giving up the sport for good, one video posted by his brother will send Alec down a new path, one that becomes intertwined with that of his long time idol, Olympic Gold Medalist and three time world figure skating champion Magnus Bane.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Well hello there.  
> Almost two years after I finished my last work for this lovely fandom I have finally returned with some new inspiration. In its most basic plot this is a Yuri on Ice AU, but those who have not seen the show do not need to in order to follow along. My disclaimer for this particular plot line is that I myself am not a competitive figure skater, and all that I know about the different jumps, moves, international competitions and rules for the ISU are entirely based on research and what I have picked up on as a casual figure skating viewer.  
> This will also be a chaptered story, hopefully no longer than five chapters, and I am attempting to push myself to have a chapter out at the very latest every two weeks. Please leave comments if there are any characters you would like to see, any corrections on my novice skating knowledge, or anything else you would like to say; I am always down to hear feedback!

When Alexander Lightwood was eight years old, he fell in love with Magnus Bane.

It was an otherwise average day in Day, New York. Alec had risen at four o’clock like he always did, grabbed his coat to fend off the first snow of winter, and his usual bag of equipment. Eight might seem too young to be heading out alone so early in the morning for some, but Alec’s family had stopped being helicopter parents years ago, busy as they were with the family business. Besides, Day was a sleepy town where the local sheriff spent more time settling nearby neighborly disputes than dealing with any real crime. 

And so, on that fateful snowy day, Alec had quietly slipped out the back door and wandered out onto the street, the light of the morning already peeking over the horizon. The small boy checked his watch, a gift from his mother for his birthday last year due to his constant inability to be back from practice on time. 4:17. He would make it by 4:30 if he sprinted, which was good for him anyway. Taking a deep breath he sped off in the correct direction, a path he had run hundreds of time in the past already. 

No one else was awake as he ran down the streets, the cool morning air hitting his face and turning it red. When he arrived, the doors were locked as they always were. However, the owners were friends of the family (just like everyone else in Day), and had long ago told Alec that the back door was locked only with a padlock. Since then they had simply placed it on the handle to keep up the impression that it was locked but left it open so Alec could practice to his heart’s content. 

Despite where he was, inside was still warmer than outside. Alec slipped inside and walked confidently out towards the front, where he flipped on the lights. Looking out over the room, he smiled as the sense of comfort he always felt here washed over him. 

Some may have thought that the harsh white light was too blinding that early in the morning, but Alec loved the way it lit up the ice. Smooth, hard, and cold, cleaned last night and untouched since then, and waiting for the thin tracks that would follow every move Alec’s made like a shadow. This was his element, his passion, had been since he was three years old. And while he came every day to practice, it always felt as exciting as the last time. 

Making his way to the benches along the outside of the rink, the boy removed the heavy outer coat, leaving him in the breathable jacket skaters preferred. He unzipped his bag and sat down, allowing himself a yawn and a tired rub of the eyes. He checked his watch again as he started to take it off. 4:28. Settling the watch in one of the pockets in the bag, he carefully removed his skates, unlacing them and looking them over to ensure they were in perfect condition. Nodding to himself, he sat them down on the floor and removed his sneakers before pulling on the skates and lacing them up tight, making sure his ankle was as supported as possible before he started working for the morning. 

Once everything was in place, Alec removed the skate guards and made his way onto the rink. The moment blade met ice he felt at home. Skating was as easy as breathing to him after 6 yers of nonstop practice, driving himself to do better, improve with every passing day, so that one day he would be able to start competing internationally. He already looked forward to that day more than anything, dreaming of skating on that stage with worthy opponents that would challenge him more than his brother and sister. 

For now Alec focused on his warm up. He was far too young to be working on impressive jumps yet, as his body wasn’t strong enough to hold the landings safely. He focused more of his energy on presentation, as grace and poise came to him easily. 

For all of Alec’s talent he was incredibly shy and not overly confident. People in his life, his parents included, had not always been supportive of figure skating. Kids from school had called him gay, along with a collection of slurs meaning the same. While he had incredible talent and worked hard, the lack of confidence showed when trying to land jumps, especially new ones. His instructor, a family friend named Luke, drilled them into him and he would eventually get them, but he always felt like he should be learning them much more quickly if he ever wanted to compete professionally. 

Alec worked on his steps for a while, keeping an eye on the clock. It was a Saturday, meaning his mother wasn’t going to be laying on the horn in the car outside at 7:25 so he could make it to school on time like she did during the week, but today he had another reason (a more important reason) to not let his rehearsal run too long. Today was the beginning of the Junior Grand Prix.

Alec and his sister Izzy watched the world competitions religiously. She was two years younger than him, but already shaping up to be an impressive dancer if not as comfortable as Alec on the ice. The Junior league was the first step towards participating in the senior division, where many skaters went on to win the world championships and Olympic medals. Every year that Alec got closer to competing meant that some of the skaters he watched might be his competition one day. Both a daunting and thrilling concept, Alec was filled with excitement at the start of competition season, and the first event was going to be broadcast at 8:30am New York time today. 

After working a few step sequences from past routines, Alec stretched out his legs and prepared to work his jumps. Some he had down by heart, the movements engraved into his bones. They were far from effortless on the small boy, but he tended to cement jumps after accomplishing it once, even if it took awhile. 

Starting with a single toe loop, Alec began running through the jumps and spins he had mastered. Singles were easy now, but doubles were still tricky because he never seemed to get enough air to complete the rotations and land correctly. The most recent jump Luke had been trying to teach him was a double loop, and so he decided to work on it for a while. His first attempt went fairly well, but he had landed on the wrong edge of the skate and been leaning way too forward. Huffing, he skated back to try again. This time he landed correctly, if a little wobbly as his skate hit ice too soon. 

Feeling brave, Alec shook out his legs and backed up. He had been able to do a single axle a few times in the past, but it was a tricky jump because a skater had to skate into it head on, meaning there was almost always an extra half rotation from the momentum. Letting himself have a moment to breathe, Alec focused all his energy on the movement necessary to complete the jump. He took off across the ice at a rapid speed, bent his knees, and lept into the air. 

He managed the rotation, but tumbled to the ice on his knees when he landed too hard on the inside edge of the skate. 

Groaning from his spot on the ice, Alec shakily got to his feet. His hands were red and cold, probably a little bruised from where they had braced him after his fall. He shook them out, biting his lip in frustration and an attempt to hold back treacherous tears of pain. He despised crying after a fall because in his mind it looked as if he were crying due to the failure, not the pain, and there was nothing he hated more than having people pity him. 

By chance he glanced up at the clock on the wall as he started to skate back to try the jump again and felt his heart stop. 8:23. He was going to miss the start of the Junior Grand Prix.

Alec had never moved as fast in his life. He threw himself off the ice, scrambling to untie his skates and hastily throwing them in his bag without re-lacing them. He yanked his sneakers on and sprinted towards the back door, stopping to turn off the lights and carefully replace the padlock even in his rush, before taking off down the main street of Day. 

People were out and about now, the sun glinting off of the snow as neighbors shoveled it out of their driveways and waved as Alec ran past. Alec winced at the wind, having left his heavy coat at the rink. He would just have to get it later; there was no time to go back. He checked his wrist, forgetting that his watch was still in the bag. The boy groaned and attempted to pick up speed.

Finally he turned onto Idris Road, and ran up the steps of the fourth house on the left, praying that his sister had unlocked the front door. Finally something went right for him as the screen door swung under his frantic pull and the front door itself opened. Alec was met with the face of his six year old sister, hands on her hips and a frown on her face. 

“I was gonna be so mad if you were late,” she pouted. Alec glanced at the clock on the door side table with a grin. 8:29. He sighed in relief, throwing his bag over the back of the couch.

“Ow! Watch it!” came a voice from the couch. Alec ruffled his brother’s hair from behind, making Jace scowl and swat. “I’m still annoyed Izzy woke me up for this because she thought you weren’t going to make it home.”

Alec rolled his eyes and settled on the floor in front of the TV, already tuned to the correct channel. Izzy joined him, all annoyance gone as the announcers stated that the Junior Grand Prix was about to begin. 

“He’s here now, you can go back to bed,” she sang, sticking her tongue out at Jace. Alec laughed as Jace returned the gesture but didn’t move from his spot on the couch. The other two siblings knew he enjoyed watching as much as they did, but liked to act uninterested. 

“It’s alright Jace,” Alec teased, “you are welcome to watch with us.” Jace gave an indignant squawk, but the other two sibling had already turned their attention to the television. 

“Did you hear if anyone we like is skating?” Alec questioned his sister. She nodded, face screwing up in thought. “They said Jem Carstairs is second. I think he’s going to win for sure.” Alec smiled, knowing how much Izzy loved Carstairs. She continued, “Will Herondale is competing next event, but Henry Branwell is there today so they said there should still be some competition.”

“There were some new people too, of course,” Jace interjected, voice trying to sound unaffected. “Some kid named Jordan Kyle thats like fifteen and a little old to be joining so late.” Alec bit back another smile as Jace stated his facts. “… and a fourteen year old named Magnus Bane. Won a bunch of medals in Indonesia, lots of buzz around him. But he’s brand new, Carstairs has got this.” 

Izzy rolled her eyes, the expression strangely fitting her young face. “For someone I had to “drag” to watch this you seem to have payed a lot of attention.” Alec lost his battle of trying not to laugh as Jace narrowed his eyes at their sister, refusing to respond. Finally pulling himself back together, Alec looked to the TV to see the first skater, the new fifteen year old, take the ice.

Surprisingly, Jordan Kyle did fairly well in his first ever performance. Alec thought his jumps needed work, as he landed badly on one, but his recovery had been smooth and his spins were wonderful. Izzy had fallen in love as soon as he shakily landed a triple salchow, a difficult feat even for a fifteen year old. “Alec, he’s great isn’t he!” she gushed, nose about three inches from the screen. 

Jace grumbled from the couch, but Alec could tell he was also impressed by the new skater.

“He sure is. I couldn’t look away,” Alec replies, carefully pulling his sister back from the TV so her eyes wouldn’t start to hurt. “It probably won’t be enough to beat out Carstairs, but he might win second!”

Izzy turned to him, big smile on her face. “I know he will, cause he’s the best skater ever,” she replied confidently, before frowning and grabbing her brother’s hand. “Besides you of course.” 

“You two better keep it down, or you’re gonna miss Carstairs,” Jace interjected. Izzy screamed and scuttled back to her perch too close to the TV, leaving Alec to sigh and scoot back to lean against the couch, head near his brother’s. 

“Mom’s gonna yell at me if Izzy needs glasses,” Alec whispered. Jace giggled and responded, “Like you or anyone else could ever tell her what to do.” 

Jordan Kyle finished receiving his scores, shockingly high for a new skater, and the cameras turned to focus on Jem Carstairs. 

At sixteen years old he could have made the jump this year to the senior division, but had decided to remain for one more season. His coach has already announced that he would be moving up next year, and from his past performances it seemed like he would be a skater to be reckoned with even at only seventeen. While Izzy was desperately in love with Jem, Alec also saw the pure skill he performed with. He was known for his excellently executed jumps, and his friendly rivalry with Will Herondale was all the gossip of skating world. 

As Jem began his short program, Alec focused intently on his footwork. He wanted to watch every jump to see the landings, hoping to pick up something to improve his own performance.  
As expected, Jem completed a strong program. He had flawlessly pulled off a triple lutz and a double axle, and while he had fudged some of his step sequence, he had still skated well enough for his scores to put him over Kyle. Izzy cheered as the scores were announced, bouncing up and down on her knees and clapping. 

“He’s gonna win, I know he’s gonna win!” she sang. Jace rolled his eyes and tucked his arms behind his head. 

“I don’t know Izzy. Those announcers before talked up this next skater pretty good.” Alec frowned, turning to his brother as the channel went to a commercial. 

“Who is it?” he questioned. Jace launched into his stats rundown of the upcoming skater. “Magnus Bane. Even though he’s fourteen now this is the first year he’s entered the international stage. He won big in local competitions in Indonesia apparently, and the announcers seem to think he’s got a shot of placing,” he concluded with a flourish. 

Alec continued to focus of Jace despite hearing the music of the competition broadcast announce the return of the show. “Did they say what he was going to attempt during his routine yet?” Jace grinned. 

“A quadruple salchow.”

Alec’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open in surprise. While it wasn’t unheard of for junior skaters to successfully complete quads in their routines, it wasn’t super common either, especially not for a brand new skater on the international circuit. 

Suddenly he heard his sister gasp, and turned his attention back towards her. Her eyes were wide and focused on the screen, her hands over her mouth. Alec returned his eyes to the TV to see what she was looking at, and his heart stopped. 

The camera was focused on a young man at the edge of the rink, about ready to skate out onto the ice. He was tall, with bronze skin and black hair. The tips of his hair, which was carefully curled, was dyed bright green. His costume was a pair of pants in deep forest green, with a lighter green tight shirt with gold embroidery and sequins with a neck line so low it almost reaches his belly button. The camera cut to a closer shot of his face, and at that moment he seemed to have noticed and looked directly into the lens, smiling and waving. His eyes were green, maybe with some gold, and were lined with black and gold liner. His smile was positively blinding. 

And Alexander Lightwood couldn’t look away. 

Faintly he heard his sister gushing. “He’s soooo pretty, I’ve never seen anyone that pretty in my whole life!” she squealed, rocking back on her bottom to hug her knees to her chest, nearly sitting on her hair in the process. She looked even more excited now than when Jem had come on. 

From behind him Jace heaved a sigh. “You fall in love every time you see a new skater Isabelle.” She turned quickly, eyes narrowed. “ Why do you always have to be such a jerk- Alec?” she cut off, “Are you okay?” 

Alec hadn’t taken his eyes off of Magnus Bane since that first moment and he hadn't realized how intently he had been staring. Up until this moment, Alec had always loved to watch the competitors skate, liked to see how the held up in the one thing that mattered most in Alec's life. He knew many of them were attractive, mostly because Izzy had always been vocal, but never before had he been so transfixed by someone without them even being on the ice yet. 

"ALLLLEC," whined Jace, poking him in the head when he still hadn't responded. "What's wrong with you?" Alec shook him off with a huff, eyes still not leaving the screen where Magnus had finally started to make his way onto the ice. 

"Shut up," he snapped, not caring how harsh he sounded. Now that Magnus was skating Alec was even more enthralled. He was simply skating towards the center of the rink, but it was like watching the embodiment of grace and agility, making the most simple of movements look like he was floating. 

Izzy crawled over to sit next to Alec, frown on her face, but did not say anything as the crowd at the competition grew silent and the music started. 

If watching him skate to the center had captured Alec's attention, Magnus' routine tilted his whole world on a new axis. It was the most emotionally driven performance Alec had ever seen. He could feel what Magnus was trying to show, his theme being loss for the season. His heart ached at the look on the skater's face, the way his movements were heavy with sorrow but also graceful and unbelievably beautiful. 

Not only this, but his technique was unquestionably outstanding as well. He completed a jump combination with ease, an ease that not even Carstairs had pulled off with his earlier performance, and his sit spin was flawless from where Alec was watching. 

Finally, the announcer stated that the next large jump would be the quad salchow the audience had been promised. All three of the siblings held their breath, Jace propping himself up on his elbow to get a better look as Magnus geared up to enter the jump. The camera focused on his face, which was still as emotional as before, and suddenly he was in the air.

Four complete rotations and a perfect landing on the outside edge of his skate later, and both the audience on screen and in the Lightwood home in New York screamed. 

"OH MY GOD!" Izzy squealed, jumping up from the floor and bouncing around the room. "That was INCREDIBLE!" 

Jace had sat up too, his face broken into a smile. "I gotta agree with you on that one Iz. That was really something." 

Alec remained on the floor, but he was absolutely beaming. Magnus was finishing up his performance, one of the best ones the young skater had ever witnessed. "Wow," he breathed, pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on them. 

After Magnus had struck his final pose, the audience had again roared with approval. As the camera cut to a close up of his face, his expression had gone from emotional to thrilled in moments, unable to stop smiling as he took a bow and drifted off the ice to await his scores. 

When the scores were announced they were just points below Jem's. Izzy yelled at the TV, saying that Magnus had clearly performed better. Jace laughed, collapsing back on the couch.

"What happened to your undying love for Carstairs, huh Izzy?" She turned to him fuming. 

"Shut up Jace, you know Bane did better than him." Jace shrugged, pulling his legs up to sit criss cross. 

"Tell that to the judges. His step sequence was wobbly according to them, and some of his jumps landed on the wrong foot." Izzy huffed, looking at Alec. "What do you think?"

Alec was focused again on the beautiful young man now waving goodbye to the camera as it prepared to cut away to the next skater. 

"I think that was the most beautiful performance I've ever seen," he replied honestly, blushing to the tips of his ears as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Jace's face appeared in front of him, looking at him from upside down from his perch. He squinted at his brother for a moment before getting Alec's least favorite look in his eyes; mischievous. 

"Somebody has a crush on Magnus Bane, don't they?" He whispered, clearly fighting back laughter. Alec pushed him out of the way as he lost of the fight, collapsing on the couch in a fit of giggles. Izzy joined him as she fell to the floor in front of Alec, who grabbed a pillow from above him to fend her off. 

"Awww big brother, you're in LOOOVVEE!" she crooned, getting a smack to the head with the pillow for her efforts. She squealed and tried to grab it from him. "Admiiit it, you lovveee him!"  
"Shut up Izzy!" Alec groaned as he attempted to free the pillow from her grasp. When he failed and the two siblings continued to tease him he dropped the object and scurried to his feet and up the stairs to his room. 

"Alec, the show's not over!" he heard Jace call when he could stop laughing, but Alec didn't respond, instead closing the door to his room and collapsing on his bed. 

He knew he was right though. Magnus Bane had just performed the most moving and beautiful piece of figure skating Alec had ever seen, technically perfect or not. He had never been so transfixed, so enthralled, by another skater, and over the years he had seen plenty. Nothing came close in his mind. 

And Magnus Bane himself. He was striking, outrageously so with his colored hair and eye makeup. That first glimpse, before he was even on the ice, kept coming back to Alec as he stared at the ceiling. Even at eight years old, he knew he had never seen anyone like Magnus before, and that he could spend hours watching him smile, watching him move on the ice like he belonged there.  
Maybe his siblings were right. 

Maybe Alexander Lightwood had just fallen in love with Magnus Bane.


	2. Inspiration Lost and Found

Removing the gold medal from around his neck, Magnus reached to rub a small knot in his shoulder with a wince.

Grand Prix FInals complete, the recently turned twenty five year old skater could finally have a moment to relax. He had dazzled the audience in Japan and around the world yet again, coming in first for the fourth time since he had begun in the senior division of ISU. Now all he had to do was compete at worlds, win gold once more, and he would have won four Grand Prixs and four World Championships.

The thought was positively exhausting. 

Magnus thumped down on the bench in the locker room where he was, childishly, hiding. For over an hour he had smiled and waved and answered silly questions from reporters, but there came a point where he simply couldn't do it anymore. He was completely and utterly wiped out.

His free skate had been perfect, and his short program the day before had been equally as clean. The judges had given him top scores for technique and presentation, and his final score had been leagues ahead of Meliorn, who had once again taken the silver below him on the podium with a fake smile and poison in his eyes.

But unlike in the past, Magnus himself felt he had put little heart into the performance. He thought back to his junior debut where he had shocked the audience with his talent and emotion for the first time, going from a brand new skater to the silver medalist of his first event. No one had expected him to keep it up, but he had proved them wrong by taking bronze at his next competition, and silver at his first ever Junior Grand Prix finals.

Since then he had been on a course of non stop improvement. He had gone on to win gold at the ages of fifteen and sixteen in the junior division, moving up to senior the next season so as to challenge himself again. His repertoire of jumps continued to expand as he worked endlessly to match, then surpass, every one of his competitors.

His senior debut had left him with a bronze medal, an extremely impressive feat for a seventeen year old, but he had only gone on to work harder and longer. He came back the next year to take the silver. At nineteen his free skate score at the finals had broken a world record, and he stood on the top of the podium with his first senior gold.

But it was hardly the end.

The next year he had taken home another silver due to an old injury acting up and causing some problems with his jumps, but he had come back at twenty one in his top form, and since then had not left a competition with less than gold.

Now he had four from the Grand Prix, three from Worlds, and one from the Olympics where he had skated for Spain. And he was bored.

Rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his palms, Magnus groaned. He still loved to skate, had given his whole life to the sport and the competition long ago. But what was the point if there was no competition? He was untouchable, but all these years there had at least been something to prove. When he first won gold as a senior; when he had to work his way back to gold; when he had to prove he could win two years in a row.

But now? This year there hadn't been that drive, that push to pull of the unthinkable. Skating would always be his passion, but competition… it was losing its appeal.

Magnus looked up at a knock on the open door and shot a smile at the young woman standing there.

"Hey four time Grand Prix champ," she mused, sauntering in to sit down next to Magnus. Catarina Loss was an incredible pair skater with her long time fiance, and the two had taken bronze this year. She was also one of Magnus' closest friends in the world.

"Hey Cat," he chirped as he gave her a quick peck on the cheek in greeting. She frowned in response and pushed him away.

"What's with the face?" Magnus licked his lips and tried to maintain eye contact.

"What face?" he purred, pushing a strand of hair away from his eyes and batting his lashes at her. Cat remained unamused.

"The 'there's something wrong but I'm a big baby and don't wanna talk about my feelings' face," she responded, deadpan. Magnus scowled.

"There's a face for that?"

Cat rolled her eyes. "There's a face for all of your thoughts Magnus, I just happen to know most of them. So cowboy up and explain."

Catarina always left little room for refusal, and so Magnus submitted.

"I am…" he began carefully, ".. very proud of how I skated today."

"As you should be," she interjected, eyebrow raised. He waved her off. 

"Yes, yes. It was near perfect on technique certainly," he stated before falling silent. Cat shrugged. 

"But…?" 

With a heavy sigh he continued. "But… I just… didn't love it."

Now Cat was fully frowning and turned fully towards him. "You didn't love it? Why not, what wasn't to love?" 

"Not the performance itself," he corrected quickly. "I didn't feel the passion, the drive I remember from before. It was like.. it didn't really matter that much because I knew it was the best, I knew it was going to win." 

Cat hummed, looking thoughtful as she considered her friend. "You don't like that it's not a challenge anymore?" He nodded, wincing.

"Pretty much. Makes me feel like an jaded asshole just to say it, but I just wish i still felt pushed to achieve instead of simply coasting by." Cat shook her head as he spoke.

"Magnus. You have been competing for ten years now. That's a long time to do so with the passion and drive you have had until now, even after winning gold. It's really not surprising that you're.. getting bored."

"I know," he sighed with his usual drama. "But it's terribly disappointing."

Cat chewed on her lip for a moment, looking nervous before she spoke.

"Have you considered what you want to do.. you know. When you retire?" she questioned softly.

Magnus, in fact, had. He had thought long and hard this last season, trying to think of anything that would even come close to the thrill skating once gave him. Some former skaters moved on to announcing and commentating. While his technical knowledge of the sport and overall charming personality would be good for that, nothing about it appealed to him. Watching skaters excelling at what he had dedicated his life to and not being able to go out and participate in some way sounded like agony.  

Coaching. Now that was a thought. The problem with coaching was that with the level of fame he was at, thousands of young skaters would pay top dollar to have his input. Some may see that as a blessing as he could certainly make a career out of it, but Magnus felt like they would only want him for the fame, not his actual advice.

In response to his friend however, he simply shrugged. "I don't know Cat. It's not like twenty five is THAT old for a figure skater." Cat quickly shook her head.

"No, you're right. But if you aren't enjoying the competition anymore then maybe there's something else out there that you'll like more." When Magnus didn't respond, she lay a hand on his shoulder and continued. 

"You don't have to decide yet. You won't have to start preparing for next season right away if you do decide to go back. It's just something to think about." He smiled at her, though it was a far cry from his usual enthusiastic grin.

"I'll think about it. I promise." She gave a curt nod and stood up, extending her perfectly manicured hand to him, which he took with an eye roll.

"That's all I can ask for. Now, we have a banquet to attend darling, and I know you don't want to go dressed in your costume, and that hair could use a touch up." Magnus laughed, feeling lighter than he had all day as he joked with Catarina.

"You know me far too well, Miss Loss. Let's get movin."

 

* * *

 

A month later found Magnus lounging in his flat in London, staring up at the ceiling with a bowl of low fat yogurt, unfortunately flavored plain instead of vanilla, a cup of tea long gone cold on the coffee table, and a blanket tightly secured around his shoulders has he sprawled on the couch. 

It was raining outside, because really when was it not. While Magnus would like to attribute his refusal to leave the flat to the fact that this was a cozy kind of day, he had been doing the same thing on and off for almost thirty days and the excuse wasn't going to hold up forever.

Magnus loved London, had since he had moved there. He had lived in Spain briefly, after visiting for his estranged father's funeral, and ended up staying in a futile attempt to forge some kind of connection with the man. While that effort had failed, he did end up enjoying the country enough to stay and represent it in the Olympics, Indonesia having never participated in the winter games.

He didn't stay long after though and had convinced his coach to move with him to London, where Cat trained, back before he had won his third grand prix. He adored London; the night life, the history, the people. When he wasn't practicing he was almost never home, instead out soaking up yet another new home.

Today though, and almost every day since he had returned from Japan, he was staying in. Occasionally he would stop by a local rink just to keep in shape, but he hadn't called Ragnor in days. He didn't have an answer for his coach as to whether or not he was coming back for worlds, let alone a whole other season.

As Magnus wallowed in his personal misery, he nearly missed a knock at the door. Groaning, he dragged himself from his position, pausing a rerun of _EastEnders_ , and wrapped a blanket around his shoulders to appear 'sick' should it be Ragnor finally come to force him back into the rink.

Sighing heavily he opened the door, prepared to whine until whoever it was left him alone, and was surprised to see a mess of red hair that barely came to his eye line standing next to a slightly taller mop of brown curls.

"Clarissa. Sherman. How good of you to stop by," he deadpanned, making no move to let them in. His arm was holding the door open however, and the tiny red head ducked under it to enter anyway.

"Oh do come in," he mumbled, turning to look as she threw her backpack onto his (mahogany) dining table and flounced her way into the sitting room. He glanced back at Simon, Clary's best friend, who looked nervous.

"Um, it's Simon," he corrected quietly before following his friend inside. Magnus took a breath before closing the door to the now empty hallway and preparing to face whatever this sudden visit might hold.

"Hello Magnus! Congratulations by the way, we haven't seen you since you got back," Clary called from the couch, her eyes narrowing as Magnus turned the corner. Simon was perched on the armrest as if he were unsure as to whether or not he was welcome to take a seat.

Clarissa Fray was a talented figure skater that had won gold in the junior women's division the same year as Magnus had won his third gold. Magnus had become acquainted with her, and by proxy SImon, through her mother Jocelyn, who had been become his assistant coach with Ragnor following the move to London. The two had grown up in the US and were still more often than not in New York, but Clary often came to see her mother on the other side of the pond who had moved to escape an abusive relationship.

Magnus and Clary got along quite well, Magnus treating her like the little sister he never had. Simon… Simon seemed to be convinced that Magnus didn't like him from the very start and was always incredibly nervous around him. It probably didn't help that Magnus did nothing to quell those fears and had long made a point of not remembering his name, but he always believed the young musician had brought it upon himself.

At this moment though, Magnus was not looking for company. Had it been Simon alone he would have easily kicked him out with a rise of a  perfectly groomed eyebrow. Clary was going to be harder to get rid of. 

"Well you know how it is dear, you come back and there's still so much to be done," he mused, falling dramatically onto the loveseat adjacent to the sofa and letting the blanket fall from his shoulders.

"Mhm" she mused, then glanced pointedly at the paused soap opera. "Seems like you've been real busy."

Magnus narrowed his eyes. "And do tell me what this has to do with you?" he inquired, injecting the words with just a touch of poison.

"Uh, my mother has been begging to know if you are planning to skate at worlds? It's the only thing anyone at the rink is talking about, you know." She looked him over, a small frown appearing on her face.  

"And I'm beginning to think I should tell them no."

Magnus huffed, looking away from her. He didn't like how well this small girl knew him. For being only 17 she could see through a whole lot more than the average teen.

Clary reached for a candy from a bowl on the coffee table and carefully unwrapped it before popping it into her mouth. She sat for a moment in silence as she enjoyed her candy and continued to observe Magnus. Refusing to be the first to break, Magnus himself remained silent.

Finally she spoke again. "Look," she began, "I know what you told Cat. She mentioned that you were thinking of not coming back because the competition was boring." Magnus moved to interject with an explanation, but Clary raised a slender finger to stop him.

"While I myself, in my current place in life, think that sounds absurd I do think it makes a kind of sense for you. I could understand not wanting to keep this whole competition circuit up if your heart wasn't in it." Magnus raised an eyebrow and lent back in the chair to await further explanation.

Clary popped in another candy before continuing. "Now here me out. You have reached the top of your game, but you potentially could continue winning effortlessly if you so wished. But you don't want effortless, you want a challenge." 

"I propose you do not compete in worlds. Instead," she added a dramatic pause, " you coach."

Magnus rolled his eyes and wrapped the blanket back around himself with a pout.

"Clarissa darling, don't you think I've thought about that? It was the first, and really only, alternative that came to mind.Put yourself in my shoes though. Who would I coach? Skaters from around the world would do anything to get my input, but how dull would it be to coach someone boring just because they paid me well? How do I know it would be any better?"

Clary gave him a small smile, then turned to Simon.

"Pull it up," she said with a nod, and Simon reached for his phone.

"I understand your point. What proof would you have that it would be any more interesting than skating yourself? So my suggested alternative, which is quite brilliant if I do say so myself, is why don't you pick someone yourself and offer to coach them without telling the skating community at large until you already have a pupil?"

Magnus frowned. "Pick someone? Just, give them a call, tell them 'I choose you' and ask them to fire their coach on the spot? What kind of asshole are you taking me for Miss Fray?" Clary was shaking her head as she listened. Simon handed her the phone and she stood to come over to Magnus.

"Magnus. You are a living legend when it comes to figure skating, and anyone would be thrilled to have you coach them. However, Simon and I did come here today with a possible candidate. Before I show you," she continued when Magnus seemed ready to cut her off again, "let us explain. Simon?"

Simon cleared his throat and stood quickly from the armrest.

"Yeah, so last year at one of Clary's Junior Grand Prix I was watching the other girls free skate, trying to see who was a challenge, that sorta thing. There was this one girl, Kaelie, really mean girl, took fourth place, Clary came first, anyway, so Kaelie had this thing with this guy who I met at one of the competitions last year while we were both watching Clary's group. So this guy was the brother of his other guy who was a skater in the junior men's division, which we don't really watch, but the guy was like "Hey if you wanna see some real skating you should come check this out."

Simon paused to take a breath, allowing Magnus a moment to decipher everything he had just said.

"So I told Clary, and we went to see his brother. Clary knew who I was talking about right away but I'm not as up on mens, so I didn't. So we went and this guy was like, sooo good, like right away I was like mind blown and-"

"Samuel, darling, do you mind cutting to the chase please?" sighed Magnus in an attempt to halt the rambling. Simon swallowed, then continued in a slightly slower manner. 

"He won gold that year in the juniors. Clary says he was supposed to have his senior debut this year, but he was hurt really badly before the season began and he wasn't ready in time to compete."

This was ringing a bell with Magnus. While he tried to stay up to date on his competition, he did not actually know all the stats of every one of them. He did recall some buzz at the beginning of the season about a new senior that wasn't going to be able to compete, but since he wasn't going to be facing him it hadn't mattered much.

He did remember the gold medalist from last year's Junior Grand Prix. He had taken the top of the podium two years in a row, and while Magnus has not seen the competitions a friend of his named Raphael had caught the kid's final performance, saying it was "pretty damn good", which was unusually high praise coming from Raphael.

Alec. That was his name. Short for Alexander.

"That's all well and good," Magnus started slowly, still not positive where this was going, "but what does this have to do with me?"

Simon nodded quickly. "Yeah, so I ended up following the brother's youtube cause Lightwood, the skater, doesn't really have a social media presence of his own and his brother posts videos of him, because Clary and I thought it was so good. After that championship though he ended up injured so nothing new was posted for awhile."

"Until," Clary chimed in with a look of growing excitement, "a few days ago. Jace, the brother, uploaded a video of Alec back on the ice in his hometown of Day, New York. It was a full routine, start to finish, and… well," she handed Magnus the phone.

"Take a look."

Magnus took the phone from her even though he was skeptical. What did Clary see in this video that was the answer to his problem? He looked at the dark screen and, with a sigh, pressed play.

The video started off aimed at the ground for a moment before coming up to rest on a view of an ice rink. It was clearly shot from a real camera, and it captured a surprising amount of the ice. A voice called out, "Alec, get a move on, we don't have all day."

A young man dressed in black pants and a grey jacket skated into frame. He didn't look at the camera, but slightly to the right of it, shooting whoever was there a dirty look.

"Give me a second," grumbled the man in a deeper voice than the other as he skate in small circled in frame. "Izzy isn't sitting at her computer waiting for this."

"Well yeah, but it would be cool if it was already there when she wakes up. Like a surprise, we miss you gift while she's away," the other replied.

The skater gave a soft smile, finally looking directly into the camera and skating closer to it.

Magnus' heart stopped at the sight of the man up close. He had noticed his muscular build from the moment he skated on screen, but seeing his face up close was a whole other story of attraction.

Alexander Lightwood, as Magnus assumed he was, had big hazel eyes and long, clearly natural eyelashes. He had a strong jaw with just a light five o'clock shadow, and the cutest nose Magnus had ever seen. And his smile…

The older man snapped back to reality as he realized he was staring and that Alec had begun speaking. 

"-  only Jace and Max here, I'm losing my mind." He shot a grin up at the cameraman, who scoffed. "I wish you were here but I know you are having lost of fun in Russia, even though I'm sure they're working you to the bone at that school." 

"Anyway, Jace has convinced me to send you a video so you feel closer to home and cause we miss you so much here, so I'm gonna do a favorite for you," he finished with a different kind of smile, the kind that was meant to dazzle judges. He back away from the camera and took center ice before nodding to the other man.

The moment the music began, Magnus knew exactly what song it was.

The moment Alec began to skate, Magnus knew exactly what he was doing.

Magnus had spent months of his life perfecting the very same routine Alexander Lightwood was performing on the screen. He had lost sleep, collected bruises, and bled for the very same motions to the very same music as this young man was doing now.

The routine may have been 10 years old, but he still had it engraved into his very bones. 

Magnus watched in awe as the very first short program he had ever performed in ISU competition, was recreated and even improved from when he had done it and taken the silver medal at fourteen.

Alec skated with grace. His movements were effortless, and even though the camera wasn't able to follow his face, Magnus didn't need to see every moment to feel the raw emotion that the young man skated with. The theme when Magnus had first done it had been loss, but when Alec skated… it took on a new life, one of nostalgia and love. Every move was done with purpose and not a moment was left empty.

As he watched, Alec prepared to enter the quad salchow that Magnus had become famous for. To his surprise, and slight confusion, the man on screen changed it to a quadruple flip, which he landed with a bit of a wobble.

Besides the singular quad, Magnus didn't see a flaw in the routine. It had been perfect, better than perfect in fact. Even with the jump he would have taken a gold in competition, nothing would have come close to it.

When he finished Magnus almost wept, not wanting it to be over. Alec was breathing heavily, and his face was shiny with sweat, but he looked pleased. He skated back to the camera and blew it as kiss.

"Love ya, Iz!" he laughed before the camera spun up and around to catch a tuft of blonde hair and a mismatched pair of eyes.

 "We miss you!" the man, whom Magnus presumed was the brother, shouted before cutting off the camera.

Magnus held the phone in his hand as the video started over, waiting to be played again. He stared at the play symbol, tempted to press it. He glanced up at Clary, who at some point had come around his shoulder to watch with him. He noticed that Simon had also joined them on his left.

Clary stood back, arms crossed and a confident smirk on her face.

"So?"

Magnus chewed on his lip, slowly handing the phone back to Simon as he analyzed both what he knew, and what he had seen.

Alec Lightwood was talented. He had proven this by placing first in the Junior Grand Prix twice in a row, which was no small feat. If memory served him correctly, he had also done so with a limited number of quads, racking up point from presentation and flawless technique in other areas. His performance of Magnus' routine was incredible and clearly showed that he not only had talent, but that he worked hard to make each performance his own, even one that wasn't original.

However, he had changed the quad for some reason and had not fully successfully landed the one he did attempt. He had also recently been injured badly enough to take him out for a season, and his senior debut season at that, which was not an easy thing to come back from.

And yet, Magnus kept thinking back to that moment, when he spoke to the camera with emotion and heart, which he carried into a routine that had originally been based on the pain of loss without losing the integrity of the performance or the technique of the moves.

 But beyond all of it, the emotion and the talent and the selfish pride that he had performed Magnus' own routine, Magnus could tell he simply… liked Alec.

He looked up at Clary, a smile slowly crossing his face to match her own. 

"Where does he live again?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise, I'm back early.  
> I am attempting to complete this as quickly as possible without losing quality because I am back in college and will soon be swamped with work. Why this spark of inspiration couldn't have come while I was on winter break and rolling in free time the world may never know.  
> Anyway, I will stand by the 'every two weeks' promise simply so if it does ever take that long I can say I warned you, but HOPEFULLY that will not be true.  
> Hit me with some feedback folks!


	3. Diamond in the Rough

In the fourth house on the left of Idris Road in the Town of Day New York, Jace Herondale-Lightwood was using every bit of strength he possessed to keep the door to his bedroom shut as his older brother tried to force his way in. 

Jace knew Alec would be mad, but that had certainly never stopped him in the past. Was this a breach of privacy? Probably. Had he lied to Alec and told him that the video was just for Izzy, studying ballet in Russia for the year? Absolutely. Did he regret putting said video on youtube for the world to see

That was going to depend on how bad Alec kicked his ass for it. 

"Jace, you better open his door!" came a shout from the other side. While he knew he was eventually going to have to face the music, the younger sibling was not entirely prepared to do so just yet and had chosen to go down fighting. 

"Jace isn't here right now, please leave a message after the beep," he called back as he dug his heels even further into the carpet. All of a sudden the pressure from the other side ceased and Jace's weight closed the door fully. 

He quickly spun around and locked it with a heavy sigh, letting his head thump against it. For the time being he was safe. He turned to where he had thrown his phone onto his bed when he had run in to escape Alec's wrath. 

Jace opened the youtube app on his phone and went to his profile. The number of views on the video had increased by hundreds just since he had last checked that morning. He grinned as he scrolled through the comments, willfully ignoring the occasional hate and focusing on the much higher volume of praise and adoration for his brother's skating. 

Jace didn't know what Alec was so mad about. The video was flawless, capturing both his technical skill and his use of emotion. It was one of the best pieces he had ever skated, why wouldn't he want to show the world? Sure, it could also be viewed by many as an homage, a love letter to the current ISU champion, but what was Jace supposed to do about it?

Suddenly there was a sound at his first story window, which he had closed but not locked. Jace shrieked as he saw Alec pushing the window open from outside, but he knew he was already too late to close it. As Alec began to climb through the window Jace attempted to rush out of the room but forgot he had locked the door. 

Just as he fumbled to turn the lock he felt an arm come around his waist and yank him back. He struggled against the hold, but Alec had worked hard to keep his arms as fit as his legs over the years and held fast. 

"Alec, please, I'm sorry I swear, just let me live!" Jace squealed as he was dragged towards his desk chair and forced to sit down. The chair was spun slightly and he was suddenly face to angry face with his brother. 

"Jonathan. Christopher. Herondale. Lightwood." Alec growled, his arms on the chairs armrests successfully bracketing Jace in. "Do you have any idea how pissed off I am at you right now?" 

Jace gulped. "I'm starting to piece it together, yeah." 

Alec scowled at the response. "I'm not in the mood for your attitude dude."

Jace rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, starting to lose the fear and still maintaining eye contact. "What's the big deal? So I wanted to show the world that you were up and skating again, who cares?" 

Alec stood up abruptly and threw his hands in the air. "Who cares? I care, jackass! Besides the fact that you LIED to me, you know I'm not ready to get back into competition and now that's all the news seems to want to talk about!" he cried. 

It was true. Jace had uploaded the video two days before Alec found out about it. Alec was so out of touch with social media that, had one of the morning news shows not decided to talk about it at the exact time Alec happened to be in the room while it was on, he may never have found out about it at all. Or at least not for awhile. 

Jace sighed, swinging around in the chair nonchalantly. "What's done is done, Alec. I can delete it if you insist but it had already been reposted and distributed thousands of times. People have seen it, and they liked it," he continued, emphasizing the last part. 

Alec groaned and collapsed on Jace's bed. 

"I don't want people to like it, I want to be left alone," came the muffled response as he was face down in a pillow. 

"Alec," Jace snapped, "I know what happened sucks and that you feel like that fall is haunting you. I know going back to the ice in front of other people is a lot scarier then doing it for me and Izzy. I also know that figure skating is your whole world and that you can't give up now." He paused before continuing in a softer tone. 

"I'm sorry I posted the video without your permission. I shouldn't have lied to you like that," Alec's head turned to face him with the eyes narrowed. "However, I thought it was the only way to get you thinking seriously about getting back into it!"

Alec sat in silence for a moment before heaving a sigh and turning over onto his back. 

"I know Jace. I get it, you're sick of my moping around. I just… ever since I fell I don't feel confident on the ice anymore. I know physically that my body is back to where it was before but if before I couldn't even land that jump what makes it seem like I could do it now?" Jace shrugged and walked over to the bed to join his brother, laying down next to him to stare at the ceiling. 

"I don't think that's a good enough reason to quit," he stated gently. Alec rolled his eyes. 

"Yeah well what about Luke moving to London? You know he wants to, and the only reason he would stay is if I went back into skating. I don't want to keep him trapped here." 

"That's his choice dude, you can't make it for him. And if he moves you'll just find another coach. You may have been out last season with an injury but you are still a two time Junior Grand Prix champ," his brother said with a smile. 

Alec turned to look at him before sighing. "I keep getting calls from news outlets asking for a statement. Most want to know if the video was some kind of sign that I was in fact coming back next season, but some of the gossip ones want to know why I skated Magnus' routine." 

Jace bit his lip and had the decency to look a little sheepish. "When you said that was the routine you wanted to do for Izzy I thought about trying to change your mind. I knew you would be particularly mad once it found its way online." 

"Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is?" Alec whined. "After ten years of no one figuring out my obsession with him and now the whole world knows that I apparently pay enough attention that I can skate his first, FIRST, international routine, which he performed when I was eight by the way, perfectly." 

"Please," Jace scoffed, "it was better than perfect." Alec elbowed him in the ribs and Jace hissed in pain. 

"Seriously Jace. What if I do go back next season and Magnus ends up competing again. I have to look him in the face knowing there's a video out there that's essentially an homage to him. Whether he's seen it or not, and with this news coverage I have a bad feeling he has, there's no way I could ever face him now."

Jace rolled onto his side and propped his head up with a hand. "I think you might be overreacting Alec. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." 

Alec narrowed his eyes at his brother yet again, then pulled himself to the edge of the bed. 

Jace shot up next to him. "So… do you want me to take it down or…?" Alec shook his head with a sigh. 

"No. You're right it's too late anyway. What's done is done. I'm still mad at you," he said as Jace started to look relieved, "but I get it. I know you wanna help, but I really have to think about it before I commit to going back to competing. If anyone calls you for a comment, just promise me you won't commit me to anything," he begged. 

Jace quickly nodded. "Cross my heart and hope to die brother. No more secret attempts to get your life back in track, I swear." 

Alec finally cracked a smile and rustled Jace's hair, much to his brother's annoyance. "Yeah alright. I'll believe it when I see it." He stood up and walked to the door, unlocked and opened it. He stopped in the doorway and turned to look back with a smirk. 

"I'd watch your back for a while though. I'm not letting you off that easy," he commented before disappearing down the hall. 

Jace gulped and hoped that the video had been worth the inevitable hell he was going to pay. 

* * *

 

Four days after Magnus watched the video of Alexander Lightwood skate his routine he was standing in the Albany New York airport waiting for his luggage. 

Booking a flight to Albany had been easy, but figuring out the best way to get the miniscule town of Day in the first place was trickier. Way up in upstate New York, with a population of under 1000 people, it wasn't exactly what Magnus would consider a 'destination'. He had rented a car in case Alec flat out refused to even speak to him so that he and his traveling companions would have a way to find a place to stay. 

Right now he was banking on Alec immediately saying yes and letting them stay at least for the first night until a more permanent plan could be set up. He had no idea what to do with Clary and Simon, who had felt entitled to join him because 'it had been their idea', but at least they weren't planning to stay as long as Magnus if everything worked out. 

Magnus had only brought four suitcases for the time being, but he had much more of his stuff back in London ready to be shipped by Cat the moment Alec accepted his offer to coach. Cat had been perplexed but supportive of the impromptu change in Magnus' attitude but he had not yet filled her in on the extent of his 'vacation'. 

He was also fairly sure when he had told her he was 'going to New York' to find inspiration, she assumed New York City. He wished. 

Clary and Simon already had their bags and finally Magnus saw his last one. He swung it off of the conveyor belt and plopped it down next to the rest of his matching luggage. 

"Thank goodness, I was beginning to think they had lost this one. That would have been a tragedy," he muttered. Simon was looking at the collection of bags in awe as Clary rolled over a luggage cart. 

"Your majesty," she snarked. Magnus stuck his tongue out at her and hauled the bags onto it. 

"Seriously dude, what did you bring?" Simon asked as he pulled along his single suitcase as the trio headed towards the rental car area. 

"Steven, you know I am hoping to temporarily move to this town, correct? I can't coach him from London and I'm certainly not going to ask him to pick up and move if I am the one bringing forth the offer. Besides," he finished with a smile, " everything I have in these bags is completely and totally essential." 

"Like all three of the interchangeable barrels for your hair curler?" Clary questioned with a smile. Magnus beamed. 

"Three different barrels, three different sized curls. E-ssen-tial." 

They didn't run into Magnus' first fan until they were about to get into the rental car. A young woman, probably about 27, drove the car to the lot where the three were waiting so they wouldn't have to walk there in the snow. She got out of the car, a nondescript silver sedan, and as she handed over the keys her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. 

"Oh my... oh my god. Oh my god, you're-" Magnus held out one hand for the keys and used the other to put a lone finger in front of the woman's mouth. 

"Yes darling, I am. I do request that you don't make a big fuss about it," he said with a smile. She nodded slowly and dropped the keys into his waiting palm. 

As the other two started to put the bags in the car, the rental car woman asked, "Would you mind if I took a picture with you? My daughter skates and she loves you." Magnus beamed and nodded, turning to peck the woman on the cheek for the photo, who giggled and blushed. 

"Tell your daughter that I deeply appreciate her support!" he called to her as she walked away, phone cradled in her hand. He got into the driver's seat, looking in the rear view mirror to see Simon squished in the back next to two of Magnus' bags. Clary was staring at him from the front seat looking unimpressed. 

"I thought you were supposed to be flying under the radar here," she questioned. Magnus shrugged good naturedly. 

"How can I say no to her daughter?" Clary rolled her eyes and leaned back in the seat.

"Hold on tight Seth!" Magnus said with a wink, and he laughed at the tiny, "Simon" he heard in response. 

The trip to Day was an hour and a half. They had landed in Albany at 7 pm, but the long flight had already left them all exhausted. Magnus was seriously hoping the Lightwoods would let them crash for the night if nothing else because he wasn't positive he could drive back to find a hotel. 

The drive was pleasant if not incredibly interesting. They were certainly out in the forest, with very little in any direction but darkness and trees. Simon had fallen asleep in the back and occasionally gave a little snore and readjusted himself against the luggage. Clary was on her phone, possibly reading, and had her headphones in. Magnus had turned the radio to a pop channel in Albany but it had faded out the further they drove and eventually a Christian rock channel had replaced it, but beggars couldn't be choosers. 

Finally Magnus saw a sign on the road around 8:30 that said "Town of Day".

"Alright kids," he spoke, snapping Simon back to consciousness with his sudden words and grabbing Clary's attention from her phone, "it's showtime." 

Day was both exactly what the three city folk thought it was going to be, but also surprisingly different. It had the classic one main street with a limited number of of shooting ones. There was one stoplight and a series of stop signs. A gas station, what looked like a market of sorts, a day care, and what Magnus could only assume was an ice rink and arcade were the only buildings beyond houses that they could see. There was a beautiful lake near the town, and a dock that probably tethered many boats during more temperate times of year. 

"Wow," Simon stated, "it's… quaint." 

Magnus drove up to what he hoped was the ice rink and parked the car. Because he didn't know Alec's address he was hoping someone would be there, if not Alec himself, that could point him in the right direction. The three of them clambered out and stood outside, wrapped in their warmest jackets to fend off the cold of the upper New York weather. 

The figure skating legend looked up at the sign on the side of the building declaring that it was a 'multipurpose recreational building'. "How does this place stay in business?" he mused. Clary shrugged. 

"Beats me. I wonder just how multipurpose it is." Simon was bouncing up and town in a futile attempt to fend off the cold. 

"Only one way to find out, now can we PLEASE go inside," he begged through chattering teeth. Magnus stood up straight with his shoulders back and nodded. 

"Let's hope this goes well."

* * *

 

Alec was situated at the center of the ice, bent over and breathing heavily. He had been working since around three that afternoon and the day was seriously to catch up with him. It was the first day he had truly dedicated to practicing again, putting in closer to the amount of time he had when he was competing. It had felt good to be back on the ice, but he still hadn't decided if it was with purpose or not. 

It had been a few days since the video had dragged him back into the minds of the skating world. The day before he had gone to Luke and told him to move to London no matter what Alec chose to do, and clearly his coach had been relieved. Luke had been offered a position choreographing for a figure skating company there, and it was a much better offer than coaching  just one skater in the middle of nowhere. 

"You about ready to call it a night?" came a call from the side of the rink. Alec straightened up and looked over at his brother, biting his lip to keep from laughing at the sight.

He had promised to have his revenge, and it had come in the form of pink hair dye in his shampoo bottle the previous night, so Jace's hair was an unnatural shade of pinkish-orange. 

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up," Jace grumbled with his arms crossed. 

"I'm a little disappointed it didn't come out brighter," Alec mocked. 

"Ha," Jace breathed, "it was. I spent all morning trying to get as much out as possible, asshole." 

"I'm going to count it as a win then," Alec laughed as he drifted around the rink. 

"You do that. Are you coming or not, cause I'm hungry." Alec waved him off and stood in the center again. 

"I'll be home in a little bit, I just wanna run this a few more times." 

Jace groaned and stood up, wrapping his coat more tightly around him. "You're loss dude, I'm not going out of my way to save you any pasta." 

Alec rolled his eyes with a smile and watched Jace duck into the hall towards the exit. He closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and launched back into the step sequence he had been practicing. 

In the hall, Jace was walking towards the front with is head down, eyes focused on his phone screen. As much as he hated the hair he still thought posting the video had been worth it. He was reading more comments about how incredible Alec's performance had been with a smile when suddenly he slammed into someone else. 

"Oh shit, I'm so…" Jace's phone slipped out of his hand and thudded onto the floor. 

"Hello!" Magnus Bane said to him with a smile. Six feet tall, built like an Olympian, and looking even more fabulous than he did on TV. 

Jace's mouth was gaping like a fish out of water. Magnus Bane was standing in front of him in the hallway of the Town of Day Recreation Center, clearly waiting for him to respond to his greeting. 

"Uh.. um.. you're, you… huh?" Jace stammered. Magnus' smile fell slightly at the response. 

"Oh hey!" Another person peeked out from behind Magnus. It took Jace a moment but he realized he recognized him. 

"Shaun?" Jace asked. The other man's face crumbled. "Simon, actually. You're Jace, yeah?" 

Jace nodded slowly, attention going back to the celebrity in the room. Magnus was smiling brightly again, seeming to recognize the name when Simon said it. 

"Ah, so you are the one who I have to thank for the video?" Jace's heart stopped beating in his chest. 

"Uhhh when you say video, you don't mean-" 

"The one of your brother skating to my routine?" Magnus questioned with a grin. 

"Holy shit," Jace whimpered. Alec was going to kill him for sure.

Magnus laughed and stuck out his hand, which Jace took cautiously like it was going to disappear. 

"Magnus Bane." 

"Yeah, I assumed." Jace said. He cleared his throat, finally coming to his senses. "I'm Jace. I guess you already know who I am." Magnus nodded excitedly. 

"I do indeed! I've probably watched that video you posted about a hundred times over the last four days. It was absolutely enchanting. Your brother has a talent." 

"I know he does," Jace said with a hint of pride. He was getting over the shock of having Magnus Bane, world champion figure skater several times over, and was moving into excitement and curiosity at the reason for his visit. "He's dedicated his life to skating, worked harder than anyone I've ever seen." 

"I'm sure he has," Magnus said full of sincerity. "That's why I'm here actually." Jace raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. "I wanted to ask him if he was in the market for a coach." 

"Fuck off," was the response that slipped out of Jace's mouth before he slapped a hand over it. "I'm so sorry," he squeaked out, feeling his cheeks heat up. Magnus simply giggled. 

"No, I understand. I would be surprised if you didn't have a reaction like that." They stood in the hall for a moment, Magnus and Jace just staring at one another, Jace waiting for him to continue and Magnus hoping for a response. 

Finally Clary stepped forward. "Hi, my name is Clary, Simon and I are the ones that showed Magnus the video." Jace shook her hand politely. 

"Yeah, why did you do that?" he asked. 

"Because it was incredible! It was exactly the answer to Magnus' problem." Jace looked back at Magnus, eyebrow raised. "Problem?" Magnus waved the question off. 

"I would rather explain with Alexander present so I don't have to repeat myself. May I speak with him?" Jace chewed on his lips, considering the question. 

"Uhhh yeah, he's actually on the ice right now. You might wanna wait till he's off so he doesn't break his neck when he inevitably faints at the sight of you," Jace muttered. Magnus giggled and gestured. 

"Lead the way then!" Jace shook himself out of his shock and motioned for the trio to follow him, brain running through a million thoughts per second. 

Magnus was nearly bouncing on the way to meet his potential pupil. Ever since he had seen that video he had been waiting for this moment with bated breath, every minute consumed with thoughts of Alec Alec Alec. And now he was going to meet the boy in person and hopefully persuade him to be his new path in life. 

Jace ducked into a doorway that shot off from the main hall. "Uh, give me a sec to at least warn him," he mumbled, still looking and feeling dazed. As thrilled as he was that Magnus fucking Bane wanted to coach Alec, he still felt like the whole thing must be some kind of joke. He didn't want Alec to get his hopes up for nothing. But what would Magnus gain if he wasn't serious…

"Hey, I thought you went home," Alec called. He was off the ice now, seeming to have just walked off. He plopped himself down on a bench and brought his foot up to rest next to his leg and began unlacing the skate. 

"Yeah. I was going to," Jace began, "but I ran into someone on the way out." Alec grimaced. 

"Don't tell me it was Kaelie. You told me she wasn't going to come back here, you know she's trouble." Jace shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. 

"No, no. It wasn't Kaelie. Actually it was-" 

"Wow, it's bigger in here than I imagined!" Jace spun around to see Magnus walking through the door, eyes soaking in his surroundings. The man couldn't wait more than five seconds?! 

"For a 'multipurpose' rec center they sure focus on ice skating!" His voice was echoing throughout the room, and Jace knew that Alec recognized it without a doubt considering the number of times he had watched press conferences and instagram videos of the man. 

"... Jace." came a soft voice from behind him. Slowly Jace turned to get a look at his brother. In any other situation the expression on his face would have been hilarious and Jace would have snapped a photo for posterity. In this moment though… 

Alec was pale, paler than the ice he had just been skating on. His eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head and his hands were visibly shaking. "Jace. Why is Magnus Bane here?" he whispered, unable to tear his eyes away from his role model, his idol, everything he strived to be. 

Simon and Clary had trailed in after Magnus and were headed towards Alec and Jace, but Magnus had yet to look over. He seemed honestly dazzled by the space and glanced at the ice for a moment with a look of longing. 

Then his eyes followed his travel companions, landing first on the strangely colored hair of the boy who had introduced himself as Jace, and then, finally, on Alexander Lightwood. 

Alec was sitting on a bench, staring at him with an expression of shock and… something Magnus couldn't quite identify. He was even more gorgeous in person, Magnus thought, a thin sheen of sweat making his exposed skin glisten and his hair falling out of place and framing his beautiful face nicely. 

Coaching this young man was going to be a challenge. How was he supposed to focus on his skating if he couldn't look away from those eyes? 

Magnus took a breath and then shot Alec his brightest smile with a wave. Alec still hadn't moved, but with Magnus' recognition of him he closed his eyes tightly before reopening, the shock returning tenhold at the discovery that Magnus was still there. The older man sauntered over the where everyone else had gathered around Alec. 

Clary was looking at him like he was about to fall over while Simon tried not to laugh. Jace looked equal amounts curious and terrified as he looked back and forth between Magnus and Alec. 

"Hello Alexander," Magnus purred as he reached him. His smile had yet to dim despite Alec's lack of acknowledgment- again, he had been expecting surprise, though this seemed a bit above and beyond what he had thought. 

Slowly Alec extended a shaky hand. "Hi," he whispered. Magnus took the hand by the fingers and gracefully swooped to press a kiss its back. He decided the light dusting of pink that appeared on Alec's otherwise pale skin at the action was something he would have to go out of his way to see again. 

"A pleasure to meet you darling," he said as he raised his head to look Alec directly in the eyes. Alec swallowed but did not break eye contact. 

"Uh… what… what can I do for you Mr. Bane?" he managed to stammer out. Alec's heart was thundering in his chest, but he wasn't raised to be rude. Besides, he was truly desperate to know why the most decorated figure skater on the circuit was here, in Day, instead of preparing for worlds. Or doing just about anything else. 

"Please, call me Magnus. If this is going to work we will have to be on a first name basis at the very least," Magnus drawled, standing up straight. Alec simply stared. 

"I'm sorry, if what is going to work?" Alec questioned, his mind still feeling in a daze. 

Magnus frowned, then seemed to realize he had yet to explain his intentions. "Oh, yes, I supposed I should tell you. I'm here to coach you for next season!" 

And while he was not known for being overly dramatic, in that moment, Alexander Lightwood fainted. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How is poor Alec supposed to cope next season with Magnus runnin around lookin like a SNACK?  
> Anyway, I do have to warn yall that it's starting to look like there will be six chapters in total because where this one ended was the only place it would make sense for a while or it would be substantially longer than other chapters. Also, if anyone happens to be from the actual Town of Day in New York please excuse my lack of knowledge about your town. I have never been there myself but I do know someone who has, and the layout and buildings of the town are of my own creation. Hope you enjoy this chapter, hit me with that feedback!


	4. The Morning After

Ragnor Fell was on the edge of completely losing his mind. 

He had woken that morning to a number of texts from Magnus' sponsors and other members of the skating community asking where the hell the man was and what exactly he was up to. Some had attached a picture that a woman in Albany, New York had posted of Magnus kissing her on the cheek while she blushed. 

People posted pictures with Magnus all the time, but Ragnor had always known where his student was at the time and why he was there. This time, not so much. 

Magnus had been in a slump, he knew that. This whole season he had not lost his edge so much as lost his will. After the Grand Prix Ragnor had factored in time to let him sulk, realize that skating was his world, then get back to practicing. A month had been a little longer than he had been prepared for, sure, but the coach had total faith that Magnus would eventually pull himself off his couch and get back to work. 

The pulling off the couch had apparently happened. The getting back to work seemed less likely.

Ragnor had gotten impatient near the end and had called the man about five times a day in an attempt to persuade him to return, and the calls had never been answered, so he wasn't all that surprised when one more day passed without any response from his pupil. 

And then he woke up to this. 

Apparently his star skater had taken an impromptu trip to the United States for reasons unknown to his coach. Ragnor was positively fuming, and had immediately called Catarina to inquire what she knew about the situation. Apparently she did know about a trip, but had assumed he was going to New York City for inspiration and had no idea why he would have been spotted in Albany. 

All of Ragnor's calls to Magnus had gone unanswered despite the voicemails that ranged from worried to furious. His student, and his friend, had gone completely off the rails and Ragnor had no idea what to do. 

He grabbed his coat from the living room chair and stormed out of his flat, heading to the rink. He did have other skaters to pay attention to and he couldn't sit around on the phone hoping to reach Magnus all day. Maybe he was asleep because of the time difference? Maybe he was dead in a ditch somewhere? Ragnor grimaced as the lift doors shut, realizing he may be jumping to extremes but fearing the worst anyway. 

When he got to the rink he tried his best to focus. An up and coming young skater named Tessa needed help on her sit and donut spins if she was going to stand a chance in nationals. However, he was continually distracted. It didn't help that there were reporters outside the private rink attempting to enter, undoubtedly to interrogate him on Magnus' whereabouts. 

Around four pm he finally told Tessa her spins were perfected and decided to call it an early day. He usually would have stayed to help out and observe any other skaters on the ice but he realized he would be almost useless, sick with worry as he was. 

Just as he was wrapping his scarf around his neck his phone began to ring. 

Scrambling to answer once he saw the caller ID, he took a deep breath and said, "I'm gonna rip you a new one the next time I see your ass kid." 

A tinny peal of laughter greeted him, laughter he would recognize anywhere. The sound eased the ball of fear that had been growing in his stomach since the morning. 

"Good morning to you too, Mr. Fell. Or I suppose it is afternoon in jolly old London?" came the amused voice of Magnus Bane from the other end. Ragnor shook his head and settled down on the bleachers, rubbing at his temple. 

"Do you have any idea what you have done? You disappeared, Magnus, and then popped up on the other side of the world in one photograph, destination un-fucking-known." He heard Magnus wince. 

"I know, you have every right to be upset. I really didn't think that photo I let her take was going to cause such a ruckus online." 

Ragnor scowled. "You didn't think, of course you didn't think. And what, might I ask, were you thinking when you decided to hop a plane to the states? What the hell are you doing there?" he cried. 

Magnus sighed on the other end of the line. "I'm sorry my friend, but I would like to not tell you quite yet," he replied with a heavy voice. Ragnor attempted to interject but Magnus continued. "There is something I need to do, but I don't yet have a guarantee that it will work out. Please just trust me on this?" 

Ragnor was frowning. He truly had no idea what Magnus was talking about, but the man sounded desperate to be believed. "Can you at least tell me where you are?" he conceded. 

"The Town of Day, upstate New York," came the quick reply saturated with relief. Ragnor raised an eyebrow. 

"And what the hell is in the Town of Day, upstate New York, Bane?" 

Magnus chuckled. "My future." 

* * *

**Approximately 13 hours earlier**

 

Alec would deny until his dying day that he fainted, because no, he didn't. Did he swoon slightly in disbelief at Magnus' words. Yes, he could admit that. Did he need to use both hands to keep himself sitting upright for a moment, certainly, he could admit that too. But faint, he did not. 

Jace would claim he did. Jace would tell the story exactly how it happened up until that moment for the rest of Alec's life. Clary always refused to comment when asked, though her sneaky smirk always made people think she was hinting that he had, in fact, fainted. Simon always said he absolutely did not faint, where had anyone gotten that idea from?

Magnus, like Clary, always refused to say what he remembered, but unlike her he truly seemed unable to recall. He had been so hyper focused on receiving an answer, he always claimed, that the moments after asking had gone about as blank for him as if he had fainted himself. Often he would joke that he had, and that the others were simply remembering who had done the fainting incorrectly. 

Whatever one believes, there was definately silence after Magnus' offer. Was it an offer, or just a statement of fact? Alec's mind had begun racing the moment the words were out of his mouth. There was no way he meant them. That didn't make any sense. Magnus Bane was the best figure skater in the world, champion time and time again. He was at the top of his game and poised to win several more gold before finally retiring. Why would he give that all up to coach Alec?

"Because you are wonderful darling!" laughed Magnus, and Alec realized he had said that last part out loud. He blushed and swallowed, trying to find the right response. 

"But how… I mean, thank you, it's an honor to hear that from you, but-" Magnus sighed and sat down on the bench next to Alec, who stiffened slightly at the proximity. 

"I'm trying to tell you, Alexander, that I see potential in you. I can tell you are an incredible skater, I saw it clear as day in that video-" Alec shot a look at Jace then, who nodded in horrifying confirmation, "- that you most certainly are a marvel on the ice and a major competitor if you would just come back to skating." 

Alec let out a slightly hysterical laugh. "You definitely didn't have to come all the way here to tell me I should compete again. An email would have sufficed." 

Magnus chuckled and shook his head. "Maybe, but I certainly couldn't email you my request to be your coach. How tacky." 

"You're… serious?" Alec breathed, looking his long time idol in the eyes. Help him, they were even more beautiful upclose than they had ever been on TV. "You really want to coach me?" 

Magnus beamed and nodded profusely. "Absolutely. In fact, I insist. I certainly didn't come all this way to be told no." He sobered for a moment. "Unless you don't want me to. I would never ask you to drop a coach, or maybe you don't think I would be very good at it, or-" 

"Yes!" blurted Alec, unable to hold back the thought. "Uh, I mean, my coach is actually moving soon. I was going to have to find a new one." 

Magnus' smile returned full force. "Then the universe has made its decision!" He bounced up, yanking Alec up by the hand. "We most certainly cannot fail to listen when destiny calls, right Alexander?" Alec blushed and he could feel the burn high in his cheeks. He looked down to where Magnus was still holding onto his hand, the warmth an enjoyable surprise. 

"Everyone calls me Alec," he finally said as his eyes raised to meet Magnus'. The other man's grin softened to a light smile, a personal one that Alec had never seen in all his years of watching Magnus from afar. 

"I'm certainly not everyone, Alexander."

The rest of the night flew by in a blur for Alec. At some point Jace agreed to letting all three of the travellers stay at the Lightwood home for the night and gave them the instructions saying that they would walk and meet them there in a few minutes. Alec remembered the walk home vaguely, the cold air keeping them from having too much conversation on the way beyond the basic "what the fuck is happening". 

Magnus melted when he walked into the living room of Alec's home. He seemed charmed by the coziness of the space, which was spacious but probably not as fancy as wherever Magnus lived. Alec vaguely noticed that his guest had brought four bags absolutely filled to capacity, but at the time all he could focus on was the fact that Magnus fucking Bane was standing next to the same couch Alec had been leaning against when he first saw him skate. 

Clary had suggested they all get some rest, as the three visitors had had a long day of travel and Alec was surely overwhelmed. Fortunately for everyone involved Alec's parents were once again away on business, so Jace offered to let Clary and Simon sleep in his room while he took the master. He walked off down the hall to show them the way, leaving Alec alone with Magnus for the first time. 

After a moment of silence, Alec said, "You can stay in my room."

Magnus shot him a look that made Alec blush (again) and stammer, "Uh, I mean, I'll stay in my sister's room tonight. I don't wanna let anyone sleep in there without telling her… Not that you're just anyone, like she's a big fan so I'm sure it would be fine, but… yeah," Alec trailed off with a wince. 

Magnus chuckled. "Of course, I am perfectly happy with whatever. I can sleep on the couch if that's easiest?" Alec quickly shook his head, looking appalled. 

"No, it's no trouble I swear. I'll just… help you with your stuff." 

"Aw," cooed Magnus as he took the handles of two of the bags, Alec following suit with the others, "what a gentleman. I really can't thank you enough my dear, I know it was rude to spring this on you but I simply couldn't help myself. I am such a sucker for the dramatic." Alec nodded slowly and gestured towards the stairs. He started to drag Magnus' bags up behind him, wincing at the weight. 

"It's really not a problem. I was just… surprised, that's all," he responded. Magnus hummed, looking down at him with a smirk. 

"You will find I am positively full of surprises Alexander." Alec smiled back softly. 

"I'm counting on it," he commented. 

Alec's room was at the end of the hallway upstairs. It had a large window with a beautiful view of the street and the maple tree in the front yard, both of which were lightly dusted with snow. The room itself was minimalistic, with a navy blue comforter and a gray blanket on the bed , some generic office supplied on a desk with the lamp on, and only a calendar decorating the wall. There as a framed photo on Alec's bedside table that Magnus picked up and examined with a smile. It was of Alec at a Junior Grand Prix, where he had apparently won a silver medal, his arm around Jace and a girl with long black hair and a smile made Magnus think she was Alec's sister.

"That's from my third year in juniors," he heard from behind. He turned to see Alec dragging his bags in through the doorway and nodding at the photo. "First time I medaled. I was, uh, fifteen." He grimaced as he got a good look at the picture as Magnus carefully set it back down. "The hair was a bad decision in retrospect." 

Magnus sighed and sat on the bed. "Most fashion choices are, darling. I've dedicated hours to the perfect hairstyle before." 

Alec tilted his head and frowned slightly, making Magnus think of a puppy. "But you're always so…" he swallowed as he fished for words. "fabulous?" Magnus preened. 

"Do you think so? I do try, but it can be so difficult to keep up with the seasons. I always feel so behind." 

Alec looked down at his plain ensemble, black athletic pants and a navy sweatshirt. Magnus, who had been on a plane for several hours, wore a gold silk shirt and perfectly fitted white jeans with tan heeled boots, topped off with a flurry gray coat that he was currently shrugging off from his seat on the bed. And he thought he was behind on fashion. 

"Uh, so. Bathroom is down the hall, first door on the left from the stairs. Izzy's room, my sister, is right across from it if you need anything. Towels are in the top cabinet in the bathroom, and... I guess I'll see you in the morning," Alec said with the air of shock he had yet to completely get over. He moved around the room as he spoke, gathering everything he would need for he night and immediate following morning. Magnus smiled warmly at him, his eyes clearly tired but still filled with that same emotion Alec still couldn't place. 

"Thank you, Alexander. You really don't know how much it means to me that you are letting me do this." 

Alec huffed out a laugh. "You have no idea how much it means that you even think I'm worth your time," he replied honestly. Magnus' smiled lost some of its light, but he continued cheerily. 

"We'll go over everything more tomorrow, talk about a plan and what you want to do next season. I am so excited, I can hardly wait!" Alec ducked his head to hide his own growing smile. Magnus' must be infectious. 

"Sounds like a plan. Goodnight, Mr. Bane," he said softly as he slowly closed the door to his room. A sigh followed him. 

"Goodnight Alexander." 

Alec felt the door click, and then sprinted to the bathroom to quickly brush his teeth and wash his face. He thought briefly about the fact that he hadn't eaten since lunch, but he wasn't hungry in the slightest. The man of his dreams, the person who had been inspiring his skating since the first moment he had laid eyes on him, was currently in his house- in his BED. What kind of appetite was he supposed to have? 

Before he knew it he was lying in his sister's bed staring up at a poster for some punk band she had loved when she was younger. His body warred with him over sleep versus think, but sleep was going to win. Clary had been right, the shock was really taking a toll on him. Maybe if he just went to bed everything would go back to normal the next day. 

But Alec didn't want normal. He wanted Magnus to be there to coach him, to help him become a skater worthy of his time and energy, one that was worthy of catching his eye.

Alec sighed and rolled onto his side. 10:14pm. Earlier than he usually went to sleep, but he had been planning on getting up early the next day to get in a run before practice. He supposed he could take the day off to figure out whatever it was he and Magnus had to figure out. Maybe he would make breakfast. His thought that he had always been a better cook than Izzy was his last thought before drifting into oblivion.

* * *

 

The following day dawned cold and dreary.

This was not surprising considering where they were and the time of year, but it still confused the hell out of Magnus when he awoke. The sound of rain outside and the darkness he was met with when he opened his eyes momentarily fooled him into thinking he was waking up in London. 

The thought passed quickly though, as he instantly realized he was not, in fact, resting on the silk sheets of his own king sized bed. Instead the sheets were a worn grey cotton and the bed itself was an extra long twin. While it was actually dark in the room, Magnus noticed he was also simply staring at the wall that the bed was pressed up against. 

He groaned and rolled onto his back, stretching his arms out above his head. The glow of a digital clock told him it was 9:37. That was an acceptable time to get up, right? He reached for his phone which he had placed on the bedside table, but apparently he had forgotten to plug it in before falling asleep, as it was dead. 

Magnus sat up in Alec's bed and rubbed his eyes before swinging his legs out from under the covers and padding across the carpeted floor to the door. He pulled it open and was immediately hit with the universally recognizable scent of bacon. His mouth watered as he realized the last thing he had eaten was the dinner served on the plane. 

Quickly searching through his bags he gathered everything he needed for a shower, plugged in his phone, and rushed off to get ready for the day. 

After filling the shower stall with his collection of shampoos and other products he grabbed a towel from where Alec had mentioned they were the night before and took the fastest shower he could remember taking in an effort to get to the food. He took his time with makeup and hair once he was done, though. He did still want to dazzle Alexander afterall. 

Finally he popped out of the bathroom, ensemble complete, and hurried down the stairs. He followed his nose to the kitchen where he was greeted by the wonderful sight of Alec Lightwood, minus a shirt and in low riding sweatpants, scrambling eggs while bacon sizzled in another pan. 

Magnus decided shirts were a crime. Shirts were cancelled, at least for Alec, because it truly felt like the world was missing something when that gorgeous torso was covered up with fabric. 

Alec turned to reach for something behind him and dropped the spatula he was using on the eggs in shock when his eyes met Magnus'. 

"Jesus," he breathed with a little laugh, reaching down to pick up the spatula as Magnus giggled at him. "Make some noise next time, won't you?" 

"I am sorry darling. I was just so… distracted," he purred in response. Alec glanced down at himself and Magnus was delighted to learn that the blush he had come to so deeply enjoy did in fact spread all the way down to Alec's chest. 

"Can I help with anything?" he asked in an attempt to change the topic before Alec hyperventilated. Alec shook his head. 

"No, it's almost ready. There's already some bacon done on the table, coffees made in the machine, and the eggs will be up right now. I'm pretty surprised Jace hasn't been summoned yet."

Soft footsteps had the two turning in the direction of Jace's first floor room, where Clary was emerging clad in soft white and sage pajamas, her bright red hair sticking out every which way in braids she must had slept in. 

"Is there any bacon left?" she asked through a yawn. "And is there anything else for Simon? He's Jewish." Alec nodded towards the table. 

"I'm making eggs too," he replied. "There's bread for toast, and jam in the fridge, but only grape because that was Izzy's favorite and we can't get more until it's gone." Clary shot him a tired smile and collapsed at the table and helped herself to a slice of bacon. 

"I'm assuming that video was actually meant for your sister," Magnus said, not so much a question but as a statement of fact. Alec's blush returned and he busied himself by focusing on his cooking. 

"Uh, yeah. She's seventeen and moved to Moscow to study ballet earlier this year. Her auditions went so well that they are paying for her room and board while she's there. She's one of the best dancers in the world." Despite clearly missing her, Magnus could tell from Alec's voice that he was deeply proud of his sister. 

"So you do figure skating, your sister does ballet. Does Jace… paint?" Clary questioned from the table. Alec laughed and shook his head. 

"Nah, Jace is the normal one. We always say it's because he's adopted, he didn't get the artsy gene." 

"I sure like to watch the rest of you do it though, blows my mind," a voice called from the stairs. Jace waltzed into the kitchen in possibly just a robe, a ballsy move even by Magnus' standards. Alec narrowed his eyes as he dished out the eggs. 

"That came off just a little creepy dude." Jace rolled his eyes and opened the fridge to grab the orange juice. 

"Hey, I play an important role here. What would any of you be without the loyal spectator, the humble fan?" Alec barked a laugh and shoved a plate into his hands. 

"I can think of a lot of words to describe you, Jace, and 'humble' isn't one of them." Jace shrugged with a smile. He turned his attention to Clary as he joined her at the table. 

"To answer your question, I dedicated my limited amounts of freetime to soccer, though I was never as good at it as the others were at their 'things'. Besides, I really do like being behind the camera, as much as I know I would look good in front of it." Clary rolled her eyes at his wink but looked to be fighting back a smile. 

"I don't mean to be rude, but is there something other than bacon for breakfast?" came a mumble. Simon had arrived decked out in spiderman pajamas, much to Magnus' amusement. Alec informed him politely of the toast and eggs, and he quietly helped himself. 

"Mornings are the most quiet you will ever see Sawyer," Magnus mused as he raised a cup of coffee to his lips. Alec frowned from where he was leaning against the counter with Magnus. 

"I thought his name was Simon?" he asked. Magnus hid his smile in the cup. 

"Is it?" 

Twenty minutes later, Magnus excused himself from the cozy scene. He knew he needed to contact Ragnor, probably Cat also, to fill them in. It was around four o'clock in London already. Hopefully none of them had noticed his disappearance.  

How wrong he was. 

His phone, which had charged enough while he was downstairs to come back on, showed several missed calls from both of them, and Jocelyn as well. Magnus grimaced at the sight of her name, knowing he was in for it for Clary as well. Apparently the woman at the car rental had posted the photo they took on instagram, effectively revealing his location. 

He decided to call Ragnor, who would undoubtedly fill everyone else in. He really wanted to keep the conversations to a minimum so he could return to his day, where he hoped to talk to Alec, explain what he was hoping for and maybe start figuring out Alec's own desires. And maybe not just the ones on the ice…

Ragnor was not pleased. This was to be expected, and Magnus knew how to calm him down. He still didn't tell his coach everything, seeing as he himself was unsure of what the next steps were going to be. He did try to make it clear that he was hoping to stay in Day, at least for the time being, but he knew there was going to have to be a longer conversation once he had all the kinks worked out stateside. 

Replacing his phone on the charger once the call had ended, Magnus took a moment to steady himself. He could hear the others downstairs telling Alec to relax, he had made breakfast and they could clean it up. As much as he wanted to help Magnus also knew this would be the perfect moment to pull Alec aside and talk business. He pulled his laptop out of his carryon and hurried down the stairs, poking his head into the kitchen. Alec was seated at the table, looking bothered by being told to do nothing. 

"Alexander," Magnus purred. Alec's head shot in his direction at the sound of his name. "Can I steal you away? We really do need to talk shop, make some arrangements and what not." Alec swallowed but nodded. 

"We can go in the living room?" he offered faintly, which made Jace snort for some reason. Magnus nodded enthusiastically and Alec stood to follow him into the front room with the large comfy couch. Magnus situated himself at one end, propped up between the arm and back, while Alec sunk carefully into the other side. Magnus pulled his feet up under him, glad he had forgone the boots he had been considering putting on even though they were inside (to complete today's look of white button down and light skinny jeans). 

"So," Magnus began with a flourish, " I have made my intention to be your coach for the next ISU competitive season clear. Do you have any questions yet?" Alec blinked, but quickly recovered. 

"Yeah. I guess… why?" he said with a soft chuckle. Magnus rolled his eyes. 

"I've already told you. I saw you skate and I want to be a part of it." He said it like it was obvious, like there could be no other answer. 

"You did say that, but I mean… why are you coaching? Why aren't you, you know, preparing for worlds or skating your own season?" Magnus sighed internally. He knew he had to explain this, owed it to Alec to tell him, but that didn't mean he wanted to. 

"Look. If I am being perfectly honest, competition has gotten… kind of boring?" he said with a wince. "I don't mean to be jaded, really I don't. It's just that I don't feel like I have anything left to prove on the ice. What's the point of competition when my heart's not fully in it?" 

Alec looked puzzled but he was nodding. "So you feel like coaching will be enough to replace that?" Magnus bit his lip and thought over his answer carefully. 

Finally he decided to say, "No, I wouldn't say replace. I'm hoping it will.. help evolve what I love about skating. Maybe I don't have to be the one doing the routines to love them." Alec gave him a small smile at the answer, and Magnus felt he had said the right thing. Then a shadow fell over his face. 

"So you're retiring?" he asked quietly. Magnus shrugged. 

"I don't know. I think that's going to depend on how good I am at coaching," he answered honestly. Alec nodded slowly. He seemed to be processing everything Magnus had said so far. He still seemed not to comprehend what it was about him that had drawn Magnus' attention, had captivated him so completely from the first moment, but it looked like he was willing to set aside the thought for now. 

"Ok. What exactly did you want to talk about now?" Alec said. Magnus opened up his laptop. 

"I wanted to start with some simple questions about your skating; technique, jumps you are good at, jumps you aren't good at, themes you like, themes you'd never even consider." Alec looked a bit startled, but after taking a moment to steel himself he looked his new coach directly in the eyes. 

"Alright. Let's get started then." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some domesticity, some bants. Game on kids.   
> The end is in sight. I have a set plan for the rest of the story now. I shall return with the next chapter asap, let me know your thoughts and words!


	5. Recovering Victory

It had been a while since Alec had last felt a panic attack like the one he was experiencing now. 

He was currently hunched over on a bench in an empty locker room at the Cup of China, having just snuck away from Magnus to have a moment to himself. However, instead of catching his breath, the solitary atmosphere had pushed him closer to a breaking point than months of training under Magnus Bane had. 

After sitting down with him that first morning, Alec and Magnus had worked out a plan. Magnus had offered to get a hotel room or locate a house to rent while he was in Day, but Alec had convinced him that staying at the Lightwood house made significantly more sense, especially with his parents being away most of the year in Switzerland. After a few calls to his parents and his sister, who graciously allowed Magnus to stay in her room (after almost blowing out her brother's eardrum with her screech of jealousy and excitement), Magnus was officially living in Alec's house. 

Clary and Simon went back to London only two days after arriving, returning the rental car for Magnus. Jocelyn had been furious that Clary had taken off without a word, but she had gotten over it once Magnus put his former coach, Luke, on the line with her. Apparently the two had been friends years before and his being in town helped calm her nerves. 

After finally filling in Cat and Ragnor about his plans to coach, Magnus had gotten the majority of the rest of his things shipped over to Albany. His two friends had been shocked at his decision, and who the decision included, but they had accepted with minimal fuss, though it was clear to Magnus that they were more upset about him leaving without a word than what and where he had gone off to. 

And then came the training. Alec and Magnus both stayed out of the media when Worlds came around, and Ragnor had refused to comment when it seemed Magnus wasn't going to be competing. After Albany no other photos of him made their way onto the internet for several months, and while the skating community still puzzled over his whereabouts the news finally gave up trying to find him. Magnus had been extremely grateful for Alec's hometown at that point. The anonymity was unparalleled. 

Training under Magnus was tough, tougher than any training Alec had ever gone through. The two of them got up at 4:30 every morning, went for a run, worked out on some gym equipment at the rec center as soon as it opened, and spent hours on the ice. Magnus had choreographed for him, and the routines were as challenging as they were beautiful. They pushed him to try new jumps early on in their time together in an attempt to have them ready for competition, but failing over and over again in front of Magnus had been hard for Alec. The more he worked though, the less often he made mistakes. 

The winter faded into a brief, beautiful spring. In April Magnus and Alec drove down to Albany to hold a press conference announcing that Alec was returning to skating, that Magnus was his coach, and to officially accept the ISU invitation for him to compete. They were hounded with questions of course, directed at both of them. 

"Are you retiring to pursue coaching indefinitely?" 

"What did you do to convince Magnus Ban to coach you?" 

"Is this some kind of stunt, a plan from the beginning with the video posted last winter, or was it truly just good timing?" 

"Is your injury fully healed?" 

Magnus waved all of the questions off good naturedly, keeping the conference on topic. Alec was grateful for his presence. He had never been very good at dealing with the press. He could see the mounting frustration behind Magnus' smile though, and so he attempted to wrap the conference up as quickly as possible. 

"I will say that my leg has completely healed and that I have been cleared by several doctors to compete again. I am looking forward to getting the assignment for which competition, or competitions, I will be attending. Thank you so much for coming." He had grabbed Magnus by the elbow and dragged him off the stage. Magnus had laughed good naturedly and blew a kiss to the press, but had taken Alec's hand on the way to the car and whispered, "Thanks." 

Days off were spent driving into surrounding town, taking the Lighwood's boat out onto the lake once spring began, and occasionally taking a day trip into Albany for things like movies or restaurants. 

They had thrown a party in May for Izzy's birthday even though she had still been in Russia.  It had essentially consisted of taking an excessive number of vodka shots with her over facetime at four in the afternoon to her midnight, but it was still one of the best parties Magnus had ever attended. 

Alec could feel himself improving. He could land all of his quads, except the salchow, almost all of the time. For some reason his success rate with Magnus' signature jump was only about fifty-fifty, so Magnus had removed them from all of his programs just to be on the safe side. The first few months had been hard, and hearing criticism from his idol hadn't been his favorite part for sure,  but Alec felt more confident about his skating than ever. 

It helped that Magnus was… well he was perfect, at least according to Alec. He was strict with his coaching, refusing to let Alec slack off for any reason and made him try again and again until he was flawless. He also gushed praised and excitement when Alec successfully pulled something off, or got through an entire routine without anything critical. 

Alec had been adamant on choosing his own theme, and he had landed on recovery. Not only was he recovered from his season-ending injury, but he was recovering his talent and purpose in life. Magnus had loved the idea and Alec felt he had woven the theme into the programs effortlessly. 

Outside of the rink his coach was warm, and kind, and funny, and handsome. Jace and him got along wonderfully, the teasing between them light but constant. He spent hours on facetime with Isabelle, often while Alec was working out much to his charinge, discussing fashion and ballet and Alec. When he did get to talk to his sister alone she almost always said something along the lines of, "You better make a move, big brother." 

And the bottom line was that Alec wanted to. He had been in love with Magnus Bane from afar for years, but it was safe to love him from his couch in the living room. He had thought, or rather hoped, that being coached by him and spending so much time with him would dampen the feelings. Instead, Magnus had become his whole world, his first thought when he woke up in the morning and his last thought before falling asleep. 

It didn't help that Magnus was the worst flirt Alec had ever met. The man was drop dead gorgeous and he knew it. He would bat his beautiful eyes at Alec when he wanted to go out sailing, pout his painted lips when Alec tried to refuse a trip to Albany to see a romcom. The worst was when he joined Alec on the ice to show him how to do a jump or teach him new choreography. He skated like he was dancing to music only he could hear and it did nothing to help Alec's focus. 

But he kept his thoughts and desires to himself. Alec had dutifully watched every press conference and interview Magnus had ever done and he understood how he flirted with the crowd, the press, even his fellow skaters. It was his brand, the way he chose to show himself to the world. Alec tried to remember this when a particularly warm smile was shot his way; Magnus may have found him special when it came to skating, but he was still just one interesting person out of the many that Magnus knew. 

A week after Izzy's birthday the assignments for the Grand Prix came out. Alec had woken up early the morning they were released, but he came downstairs to find Magnus had woken even earlier. The two ate cereal together at Alec's kitchen table and refreshed the page every two minutes, barely talking. 

They both released a sigh of relief when the assignments finally came out. He only had to attend two competitions. As a seeded skater, based on his rankings from the junior division, there had been a possibility he would have to skate in three, but they had gotten lucky.

His first competition was the Cup of China, this year held in Beijing. It was the second of the six to happen and it was scheduled for October 27. They had a little over five months. 

Spring shifted into a blistering summer that led to Magnus allowing them to drive the brief distance to the rink and cut out the running portion of their work out simply to survive the rest of the day. He compensated by having Alec run laps around the rec center instead. Because being outdoors was unbearable, Alec put more time in on the ice than ever, to the point where he could skate his routines backwards. 

In September Magnus and Jace took Alec camping for his birthday. Alec loved the outdoors, and Jace had grown up around it, but Magnus was… out of his element. His clothing choice was more camper chic than practical, with the stylish hiking boots and coat, and he had been loathed to leave behind his hair products even for one night. 

He had gone without complaint when it was what Alec wanted though, and Alec loved him all the more for it. The three of them had spent the night in the woods, without a tent, staring up at the stars and sipping on lightly spiked cider. Magnus admitted upon their return to civilization the following day that he would consider, possibly, doing it again. If it were with the right people, he had added. 

It was one of the best birthdays Alec could remember. It would have been perfect if only Izzy had been there. 

And then suddenly it was October. His routines were as good as they were ever going to be, which was leagues better than he had ever skated before. Magnus had worked him to the bone but he could feel that it was going to pay off. He was finally going to make his senior debut. 

Or so he had believed. Now he was sitting alone, hunkered over in fear instead of preparing to skate on an international stage. International, as in people from around the world were going to be watching him. What was he thinking? 

He braced his elbows on his knees and ran his hands through his hair. He recognized what was happening as the beginnings of a panic attack, but he felt powerless to stop it. Izzy and Jace had helped him when he was competing in juniors, but Jace had already wished him luck and run off to get a good seat, and Izzy was still in Russia. 

The only one who could help him was Magnus, but he didn't know about Alec's anxiety. It only became as big of a problem as it was when he was competing, and Magnus had never seen him compete. It wasn't that Alec was worried about what Magnus would think, he had simply hoped he would be able to keep it together this time. 

"Shit," Alec whispered to himself as another wave of panic washed over him. There was no way he was going to make it on the ice without addressing this. He scrambled for his phone and saw several missed calls from his coach, and several texts that boiled down to 'where are you?'. He grimaced and shot back a text with his location, then sunk to the floor and put his head between his knees and tried to focus on breathing. 

A few minutes later the door to the locker room flew open. Alec raised his head slightly and made eye contact with Magnus, immediately feeling guilty for the fear he witnessed on his face. 

"Alec, what's wrong?" Magnus asked as he rushed to his student's side. He put a hand on Alec's shoulder and knelt in front of him, eyebrows furrowed with worry. Alec went to respond but immediately choked on a dry sob instead. 

The confusion and fear on Magnus' face was then replaced with understanding. He carefully cupped Alec's face and nudged him to look up. He worried his lip at the panic in Alec's eyes and what could only be tear tracks on his cheeks. 

"Alexander, darling, you have to breathe for me," he said as he took a seat on the floor facing him. "I know it's hard right now, but you have to focus on breathing all the way in, and then all the way out." 

He took Alec's hands in his and pressed them to his own chest, taking a deep breath as if to show him. Alec tried to listen but ended up choking on the inhale instead. Magnus kissed his knuckle and repeated, "All the way in, and then all the way out." 

About a minute passed before Alec could get through more than one breath without choking. He was still shaking but he no longer felt close to hyperventilating. Magnus smiled and wiped away the tears on his cheeks. 

"Well done, that's a good start," he breathed into the air between them. He swallowed and simply sat in silence with Alec for a while longer and rubbed his hands, pressing his forehead to Alec's.    
Finally Alec stopped shaking. He felt infinitely better than he had only a few moments before. Magnus noticed and moved back slightly, only to scoot over to sit against the bench on the floor next to Alec. He held onto Alec's left hand, fingers intertwined. 

"Sorry," Alec whispered lamely. He felt rather than saw Magnus shake his head and press a kiss to his costumed shoulder. 

"Don't ever apologize for an anxiety attack, Alexander." Alec turned to look at him and saw the relief mixed with confusion on his face. 

"Does this kind of thing happen often?" Magnus asked quietly. "Has it happened while I've been around and I just wasn't paying attention, or-"

"No," Alec cut him off with a sigh, "It used to happen before junior competitions. Almost every one of them actually. I get really nervous when it's, you know. In front of lots of people." 

Magnus gave him a small smile. "It's common in figure skating love. Don't think you're the only one. I had really bad anxiety for a long time actually." Alec blinked in surprise. 

"Really?" he croaked. Magnus nodded. 

"Oh yes. Nobody really called it 'anxiety' mind you. People always told me I just had to get over my stage fright. I had to work really hard once I started competing internationally to keep it under control, but I haven't had a panic attack in, oh, nine years?" Alec's eyebrows shot up in shock.

"Wait, so you had them while competing?" he asked.

"Sure did. Good people around me helped me through the attacks themselves, and eventually I figured out how to cope with what I was anxious about. The more I competed, the less anxious it made me" He squeezed Alec's hand softly. 

"Mine weren't as bad as a lot of people, but I probably wouldn't have had them for a long if I went to see a doctor. Again no one was really talking about 'anxiety' beyond being nervous." Alec bit his lip and took another shaky breath. 

"Alec, you know you don't have to skate today," Magnus said. Alec shot him a look of horror, but he continued. "We can tell the ISU you want to withdraw. There's absolutely no shame in that, you're health needs to come first."    
Alec shook his head and bumped his forehead against Magnus' affectionately. "I'm good," he said. "I want to skate. I know this program, I've spent months getting here. But thank you." Magnus inclined his head slightly in acceptance. 

"Just keep that in mind, alright darling? You really do come first, no matter what." Before Alec could respond, he pushed himself up from the floor and held a graceful hand out to Alec, who took it with a gracious smile, and pulled his student up to stand next to him. 

"Ok. You've warmed up?" he asked. Alec nodded. "Skates laced?" Another nod. "Costume flawless?" Alec let out a small laugh at that. 

"Well you designed it, so it better be," he joked. Magnus beamed and kissed him on the cheek. 

"Well alright then Alexander. Get out there and show them how it's done." 

* * *

Skating out onto the ice at the Cup of China was unlike anything Alec had ever experienced. The Junior Grand Prix was one thing, but this was something entirely different. Thousands of people were in the stands, and millions more were watching from around the world. 

His panicking had taken place during two other skaters short programs. This was the more technical of the two, and shorter as the name implied. There were very specific rules that had to be followed for the short program to score high points with the judges. 

The two skaters he had missed had gotten respectable scores, but nothing that Alec didn't think he could beat. He had just watched the skater immediately before him however, a 24 year old named Bat Velasquez, and he could feel the competition heating up. The man skated beautifully, and his technical score put him ahead of the first two by a solid amount. 

And suddenly it was his turn. He heard the announcement reverberate through the rink. "Next on the ice, representing the United States of America, Alexander Lightwood." 

Standing at the entrance to the rink, he spun around to face Magnus one last time. He was surprised by the peck on the cheek he was given in full view of the audience and the cameras, but he was terribly grateful for the whispered, "You've got this," that he received with it. 

Nothing had ever felt quite as terrifying and exhilarating as skating to the center of this particular ice. With Magnus' help his nerves were behind him, at least for today. As he struck his beginning pose he closed his eyes while he waited for the music and thought of the way Magnus smiled at him. 

Start with a soft spin. Begin skating backwards, balancing with one leg out. Change feet. Prepare for a triple loop- perfect. Use the arms, show grace and poise through the whole body. Combination next, a double salchow and a triple toe loop. Little shaky on the double, take a moment before the triple. Better. 

Alec knew the routine, knew the timing well enough to block out the music. His mind was three moves ahead of his body but he made sure no one could tell that. To them he was lost in the moment, consumed by the emotion of returning to the ice he was portraying through his theme and his program. 

His one quad went perfectly. He had always been best at the quadruple loop so Magnus and him had decided to play it safe for the short program. A small thrill went through his body as he landed it and entered a sit spin.

And then it was over. Alec could feel his heart thudding out of his chest as he tried to regain the breath he had lost while skating. He could hear the crowd cheering but his eyes went immediately to his coach. 

Magnus was applauding and though it was a relatively small reaction compared to what some might expect from Magnus, Alec could see the pride in his smile. Alec took his bows, picked up one of the roses that had been thrown onto the ice, and skated off. 

He was met immediately with a hug. Magnus' arms were strong around him, his breath hot on his neck. 

"Well done, darling." he laughed in his ear before pulling back and holding onto his arms. Alec smiled and laughed back. 

"Is it over?" he said with a dazed smile, making Magnus giggle and wrap his arm around his shoulder, pressing a kiss to his temple as he steered them to the the kiss and cry to receive his scores. 

"Yes, yes you did it. You've competed for the first time as an ISU senior." 

Alec's face refused to listen when he tried to tell it to stop grinning. He allowed himself to be sat down on the bench and wait for the judges to make their decisions. 

His scores were good. Better than good, they were great. He was just two points behind Velasquez, and he was more confident in his free skate than the short. Alec was alight with excitement and joy and in a moment of bravery gave his coach a return kiss on the cheek, feeling proud at the blush that spread over Magnus' face. 

By the end of the day he was still in second place. After changing and carefully packing up his skates Alec and Magnus began their exit from the rink. Magnus managed to keep the press to a minimum by saying they would answer questions tomorrow, after the competition was over. Alec got a text from Jace saying congratulations and telling him they would meet up at the hotel. Magnus ushered him out of the building to where a car was waiting for them. 

Once they were safely in the car headed away from the rink, Alec finally had the moment to ask, "So, what did I do wrong?" Magnus tutted with a frown, which made Alec sigh dramatically. 

"Fine. What can I improve on, then?" he rephrased. Magnus had set a rule rather early in their partnership that stated he could always ask for feedback, but that it could never be in a blatantly self deprecating manner. He would always say, "If you ask what you did wrong, you leave the critic no opening to tell you what you did right."

"Much better," Magnus beamed. "Your quad was excellent, the work you have been putting into it showed. The landing on the double salchow was wobbly, I believe you may have over rotated a bit. We haven't worked on the smaller jumps as much, you might be more used to going further now. There was a moment in the step sequence that sent you a little off balance as well, but the sit spin with the foot change was the picture of elegance." 

Alec fought hard against his grin. Magnus looked genuinely thrilled as he spoke, taking apart every moment of his routine and either gushing compliments for it or offering advice. The fact that there was significantly more of the first filled him with confidence and pride. 

"Are you ready for tomorrow, my dear?" Magnus queried as they walked into the lobby of the hotel. They had checked in earlier so they were able to head straight upstairs where Jace was waiting to hear from them. 

Alec nodded, his face determined. "I think so. I've worked on the free skate even harder, and I feel more comfortable with the longer time. It means I can have those moments for the emotion." They got in the elevator, Alec pressing the button for the fourteenth floor. Magnus smiled and leaned against the wall as they started to rise. 

"Just focus on the rotations of the jumps. If you choose to change one in the middle of the routine, make sure you commit completely so you don't just end up with an over rotation." Alec gave a mock salute. 

"Yes sir." Magnus rolled his eyes and pushed him gently out of the elevator when it came to a stop. 

"What happened to the shy boy I met in Day, huh? How come you get to sass me now?" Alec blushed and stuck out his tongue, making Magnus chuckle. They arrived at Alec and Jace's room, where Magnus put a hand on Alec's wrist before he opened the door.

"Tell your brother to send me whatever video he inevitably took of you today," he said with a small tired smile. Alec's brow furrowed. 

"Oh, do you not want to come in?" Magnus shook his head softly. He observed his student for a moment, then took a breath and stepped into his space. His arms wrapped around his waist and his head tucked itself into the area between Alec's neck and shoulder. Alec was taken by surprise and for a moment did not respond to the affection. When he did, one hand came to rest on Magnus' shoulder while the other lightly rested in his hair. He felt the coach let out a soft breath on his neck, sending a shiver down his spine. 

"Not tonight, darling," he sighed. "Tomorrow is a very long day, one that will most certainly end with celebration. I'll stop in when we can pop open a bottle of bubbly." The two stood in the hallway for a moment longer, wrapped around each other. Alec had no idea what had brought this on, but he was hardly going to complain. 

Then Magnus pulled back with a huff, shaking his head as if to clear his mind of a fog. He took his pupil's hand and swept into a bow as he pressed a kiss to the knuckle with a smirk before spinning on his heel and sauntering towards his own room. 

"Get some rest Alexander, tomorrow you have to dazzle the world!" he called over his shoulder. Alec was still a bit in shock and unable to respond, and after a minute of standing in the hallway utterly speechless, he finally turned and went into his room.

* * *

 

The free skate went even better than he had hoped. While the morning had started of with distraction from his parting moments with Magnus, and confusion when he was back to his usual level of charm and humor the next day, his focus was unparalleled on the ice. 

Magnus had sat with him before warm ups had begun and walked him through some breathing. Alec had been feeling less anxious already, as he had already performed the day before, but he was eternally grateful to his coach for taking the time to ensure he was good to go. 

Magnus had kissed his cheek before letting him skate off again, but Alec chose to only think about it once he was off of the ice. He had a competition to win. 

There hadn't been a single over rotation on his jumps. His quadruple lutz and quadruple toe loop each had flawless landings. He stumbled a bit in the step sequence when the toe pick of the skate caught the ice, but he knew it wasn't bad enough to severely damage his scores. He had watched all of the other skaters perform before him, and even Bat hadn't performed well enough to keep his lead. 

His technique and presentation combined clearly payed off with the judges. He earned the highest score of the day by a margin of a little more than four points, which put him in the lead. There were two other skaters after him, but unless they performed perfect routines they had no chance of pushing him out of first. 

The moment was surreal as Alec watched the scores as they were revealed. He could hear the cheering of the crowd, the sound of the announcer stating his scores, but the only thing that truly registered was the feeling of Magnus' arm wrapping around his shoulder and pulling him in to press strong kiss to his temple, and the sound of the whispered words, "Congratulations Alexander," in the voice of the man he had been in love with for years. 

The medal ceremony was an out of body experience. Alec had worked harder in the last few months than he ever had before, and right now it was paying off. He stood on the highest level of the podium and leaned down to accept the medal around his neck, his face beginning to ache from the smiling. 

At the press conference that followed Magnus did most of the talking as Alec simply sat with a dazed smile on his face. 

"Mr. Bane, this is the first time you have coached, how does it feel to win right out of the gate?" asked a reporter. Magnus laughed. 

"Wonderful, of course, though don't think I had much to do with it. Alexander worked harder than any skater I've ever seen, present company included." 

"And the next competition you two will be at is the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow next month, correct?" asked another. Magnus gave a nod before responding carefully. 

"That is correct. And before you mention Meliorn, I am aware that he will be there as well and I am hoping the little rivalry we have had going for years won't cause any problems between him and Alec." 

At his words Alec shot him a confused glance for a moment, but the questions had already continued. He responded when they were directed towards him, usually saying things like, "I was very impressed by and proud to have been on the same ice as the other skaters today," and "I am looking forward to competing in Moscow." 

Again Magnus shuffled him out of the building as quickly as humanly possible, which Alec was eternally grateful for. This time there had been significantly more press waiting outside and having to answer all of their questions may have led to a very long night indeed. Once safely in the car and headed back to the hotel, Alec finally asked, "What did you mean about your rivalry with Meliorn? I know you've always beat him, but why would that extend to me?"

Magnus sighed and rubbed his hands over his eyes. Alec could tell after all this time that this was a subject Magnus didn't particularly want to talk about. Before he could take back the question, Magnus responded. "That, my dear, is a bit of a long story. But I suppose you deserve to know before it becomes an actual problem." 

He leaned an elbow against the window and contemplated his pupil. 

"It's not Meliorn himself I've ever had a problem with. He might have something personal with me at this point, I really don't know. No, when I say 'Meliorn' I mean his bitch of a coach." Alec's eyebrows raised into his hairline at the name calling. Magnus swore, but almost never like that. 

"She goes by the name 'The Seelie Queen', whatever that means. No one seems to be able to decide what her real name is. She's been a thorn in my side since I met her, all because of Camille Belcourt." 

Alec let out a small gasp at the sound of the name. He knew who Camille was, anyone who knew anything about Magnus Bane knew who Camille was. Magnus held up a hand. 

"You probably think you know this story, but try and listen to it one more time for me." Alec nodded slowly, his mind racing, and Magnus continued. 

"Camille was a former skater of hers, though she never went into senior competition. I knew her when I was younger, and dumber, and the two of us had a thing for entirely too long." Magnus looked out the window and remained silent for a moment. 

"I fancied myself in love with her. I wanted us to run away together, during the spring before my third year in seniors However, I realized some time in April," he drawled, "that Camille was in fact a lying cheating bitch, which in retrospect makes the fact that all I really got out of that relationship was a vendetta held against me by the Seelie Queen seem like a terrible waste," he said with a rueful laugh. 

"That's where the story always gets fuzzy," Alec interrupted. "Everyone knows you two were dating, constantly on magazine covers and sports blogs. And then suddenly you weren't, and Camille stopped figure skating." 

Magnus rolled his eyes. "Damn right she did, which is why the Seelie Queen hates me so much. I caught Camille cheating on me with some reporter. She was set to make her senior debut that year since she was going to be twenty by July, but in a childish fit of pettiness I told her that if she quit skating I wouldn't tell anyone what had actually happened. She agreed, and the official story became she wanted to pursue a career in modelling and we wouldn't be able to keep up a relationship where we weren't in the same world anymore." 

"Jesus," Alec breathed. While there had been loads of coverage around the breakup, the two had seemed so cordial with one another that not even one news source had brought up the possibility of infidelity. 

"Don't I know it," Magnus mused. "Anyway, I was eighteen at the time, young and dumb as they come. On the upside, Ragnor decided to use my anger and bitterness for my theme that season, and I brought home my first senior gold. Felt good to rub that in her face. But," he continued after a pause, taking Alec's hand and looking him in the eye, "forcing her out of skating took away one of the Seelie Queen's best skaters and she has never forgotten that. There was only so much she could do to me at that point, but we are just going to have to be careful in Moscow and keep an eye on her." 

Alec nodded and squeezed his hand. "You handle her Magnus. I'll take care of Meliorn," he said with a smirk. Magnus cracked a smile at that. 

"Your newfound confidence warms my heart, darling. Now, do you want to go over today's routine?" 

By the time they were back at Alec's door in the hotel they had wrapped up their discussion of his free skate. This time when he asked Magnus to stay he graciously agreed and walked inside with him. "I promised I'd stop by for the bubbly, didn't I?" he said with a smirk. 

After opening the door Alec was immediately pulled into a massive hug. He huffed out a laugh and wrapped an arm around his brother. 

"And the winner of the Cup of China is none other than Alexander Gideon Lightwood!" Jace crowed into his ears, making him wince. Jace pulled back and immediately yanked at the gold medal around Alec's neck and nearly causing him to choke. 

"And look at this handsome medal you went and got yourself. Damn dude, do you have any idea how awesome this is?" he marveled as he stared at it. Alec laughed and slipped it from around his neck, heading over to sit on his bed and take his shoes off. 

"I always knew you only stuck around for the jewelry, Herondale," Alec said with an overly dramatic sigh. Magnus laughed and collapsed into the desk chair, picking up the phone to presumably order champagne. 

Jace clicked his tongue and sat down next to Alec on the bed. "Ah, don't be a baby. You know how good you were, you don't need me to say it." Alec shrugged, pretending to be upset and keeping his eyes to the ceiling. 

"Maybe not. It can't hurt to hear it again," he whined with a fake sniff. Jace groaned and placed his chin on Alec's shoulder. 

"Oh Mr. Lightwood, you were so gosh darn great out there today! Can I pretty please have an autograph?" he said in a childlike voice, making Alec break and laugh. He shoved Jace off of him, who fell back on the bed with a soft thud and a grin on his face. 

"Seriously though," he said as he raised himself back up and clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder, "I know you earned it. Great job dude." Alec smiled and covered his hand with a squeeze. 

"Thanks," he whispered.

"Champagne is on the way, gentlemen!" Magnus called from the desk, swinging the chair around. 

"I think we have some celebrating to do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOL guess who's a liar and clearly doesn't know how much story they want to tell? Looks like there will be at least two more chapters folks, but I promise I'm getting very very close. I'm just gonna stop promising a certain number and let the story do what it has to do. Also to those who wanted more skating and less character development I realized I personally cannot make several paragraphs of ice skating sound anywhere near as exciting as watching several minutes of it is, so please do forgive me.


	6. Shot Through the Heart

Moscow in November was every bit as cold as one might think.

Magnus insisted that it was truly a beautiful city filled with incredible sights, but while there was no snow the air was certainly cold enough to prefer the indoors. The ride from the airport to the hotel was pretty much all the sightseeing Alec thought they would be able to pull of on this particular visit. 

The hotel was wonderfully opulent and only a short drive from the rink. They arrived a few days before in order to have some time to get used to the time difference and the new ice, and Magnus made sure Alec took full advantage of it. 

There had been a little less than a month between Beijing and Moscow. Both Meliorn and another top skater named Malcolm Fade were at the Rostelecom Cup, making the competition much stiffer than it had been in China. Still, Alec felt confident that he could perform even better this time. The time off had been spent back in New York, working every day to improve on anything and everything that Magnus and Jace had noticed in his two performances. 

During that time, Alec had noticed a change in Magnus. It was subtle, probably not even worth mentioning, but something was off. He seemed slightly distracted unless Alec was skating, and he seemed to be less tactile than Alec had gotten used to. Alec didn't say anything though, hoping he as just over analyzing and not wanting to sound clingy if he was. 

The day of the competition dawned clear and crisp. There wasn't a cloud in the sky but the temperature remained too cold to walk to the rink. Instead Alec, Magnus and Jace piled into a car, Alec's costume and skates carefully tucked in his bag. Jace was staring down at his phone in the front seat and had been all day, a secretive little smile on his face. 

Magnus was quiet on the ride, occasionally giving some advice as it occurred to him. Otherwise he looked lost in thought. Finally Alec said, "Is something wrong?" 

Magnus started in surprise, then released a breathy laugh. "I certainly hope not, darling. I've just been… preoccupied with this Seelie Queen nonsense." Alec frowned. 

"There's nothing she can do but psych me out Magnus. Why are you so worried about her?" 

Magnus shook his head glumly. "You haven't met her yet. She's ruthless, mean, and manipulative. I don't know if she's going to do something, and if she is what it will be, but I have a really bad feeling about you and her being in the same room." 

Alec reached across the seat and held out his hand, which Magnus took with a wain smile. "Nothing is going to happen, alright? I promise." Magnus squeezed his hand with a sigh. 

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Alexander."

They were the second at the rink for the warm up. On the ice already was George Lovelace, a young man from Scotland Alec had skated against in the juniors. He was also making his senior debut this year, though he was a few years younger than Alec. 

"Hey Alec!" George said as he skated up to the wall. Alec waved to him as he laced up his skates. 

"Hey George. I hear you came in fifth in Canada," he replied. George beamed and nodded. 

"Sure did. Beat my highest technical score too. Probably won't make it to the final, but it sure was a fun first season so far!" Alec smiled at him warmly. He liked George. He was a good skater, though not the best, but he found more honest joy in the sport than anyone Alec had ever met. 

"Congratulations on winning the Cup of China! My friend Simon sent me the link your brother posted, it was totally awesome!" Alec blinked in surprise. 

"Simon? As in Simon Lewis?" 

"You bet! He's gonna be here today to support me! Clary is coming in too, do you know her? " Alec rolled his eyes. Now he knew who Jace had been texting. Ever since they had met in Day Jace couldn't stop talking about Clarissa Fray. "I sure do, George."

"Well that's great! We should all go get dinner or something when the competition is over. I've never had Russian food," George mused. There was a call from the other side of the rink, making George groan. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" he yelled back. He turned to Alec with an exasperated look. 

"Gotta go, I'll see you later alright?" Alec inclined his head and watched George skate off before getting up to start his own warm up. 

About twenty minutes later most of the skaters were on the ice, Meliorn included. Unlike everyone else he had not addressed Alec either to welcome him back or congratulate him for China. Instead he simply seemed to pretend Alec wasn't even there, which was just fine by him. 

When everyone was called off of the ice, Alec went to have his moment of solitude. He could feel a bit of the usual panic rising in his stomach, but when he looked around for Magnus he was nowhere to be found. He shot off a text telling him to meet him in the locker room he had ducked into, before sitting down and trying to do his breathing exercises alone. 

Alec still hadn't seen the Seelie Queen. She had been the only other coach not present at warmups. Alec tried not to let the thought get to him, but Magnus' fears about what she was up to were all the more prevalent now that he was overthinking them. 

Suddenly the breathing wasn't working. Magnus hadn't been at warmups, he had disappeared soon after they had arrived at the rink. Was he with the Seelie Queen? Was she doing something to him? Dear god why hadn't he thought of it before-

"Alec," came a voice directly in front of him. It wasn't Magnus' voice like he had hoped, but it was familiar. He lifted his head from where it had apparently buried itself in his knees and was shocked to see his sister's worried face looking back at him. 

"Bu… wha… Izzy?" he sniffled incredulously. He tried to take in a breath and immediately began choking on it. Isabelle moved to sit beside him and wrapped her arms around his waist.  

"Hey big brother," she whispered into his shoulder as she held him tight. "Just breathe with me alright? Come on, you know you can do this,"

It was just like old times having her there with him. Magnus had been great in Beijing, but nobody was ever as good at grounding him as his little sister. He shakily wrapped his arms around her shoulders and tucked her to his side as he tried to follow her whispered instructions. 

When the worst of it finally passed he let out a shaky laugh and pulled back from her slightly. 

"Where the hell did you come from?" he breathed. Izzy gave a small smile and rolled her eyes. 

"Uh, I live here?" Alec's mind blanked for a moment before she went on. 

"Jace thought you would think about inviting me eventually, but I knew it would totally slip your mind that I was training in Moscow," she said with a laugh. Alec's heart dropped. 

"Oh my god, I'm so stupid," he moaned. "I knew you were in Moscow, but I totally didn't put that together. Iz, I'm so sorry." Izzy waved him off. 

"Don't sweat it, it gave me the chance to surprise you. I had a feeling you would miss that tiny detail, especially when you didn't mention anything over facetime when the assignments came out. Still," she said as her face fell, "I was hoping for a slightly more fun reunion than this. How bad has it been?" 

Alec shrugged. He felt better, the distraction and breathing had calmed him down quickly. "Not that bad, Magnus helped out a lot in China." At the sound of his coach's name Isabelle visibly brightened but didn't interrupt. "There's just… sort of a problem that's come up and thinking about it got the best of me." 

Izzy frowned. "What kind of problem?" she demanded.    
"Just some grudge another coach has against Magnus. He's seems really nervous about her, thinks she's gonna do something to hurt my chances against her skater." 

Izzy hummed and sat back against the wall they were leaning against. 

"Is there anything either one of you can do about it?" she asked. Alec shook his head sadly. "Then I'm afraid you're gonna have to leave it be, not focus on her. You have another gold to take home," she finished with a proud smile and a peck on the cheek. Alec returned the smile and stood, helping his sister up. 

As they began to walk out, something occurred to Alec. "How did you even know where to find me?"  

"Magnus, of course. He and Jace waited outside for me so I could be let in through the back. He told me you needed help and that I could find you here," she responded. A weight felt lifted from Alec's chest knowing that Magnus had only been scheming with Izzy to surprise him instead of being victimized by the Seelie Queen, no matter how ridiculous the idea was in retrospect. 

He stopped and tugged her in for a hug, pressing his nose to her hair. "Thanks for being here Iz," he sighed. She hugged back tightly. 

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she whispered in reply. 

* * *

The first skater was taking the ice when Alec got back to the rink, his arms still around his sister. He walked over to Magnus, who was seated and watching the skater wave as he took center ice.

"Hey," Alec whispered as he slid into place next to his coach. Magnus started at the sound of his voice, then carefully placed a hand on his arm. 

"Alexander, are you alright?" he worried. Alec smiled and pat his hand. 

"I'm good. Thanks for sending Izzy though. How did you manage to keep your mouth shut about her anyway?" Magnus' eyes twinkled. 

"I can keep a secret when I want to. I just usually don't want to." He looked around Alec to Isabelle and held out a hand. "Good to finally meet you in person Miss Lightwood. I apologize if I came off rude when I rushed you inside but there were more pressing matters than our introductions." 

Isabelle laughed as he pulled her hand to his lips for a kiss, making Alec roll his eyes. 

"Just as charming in person I see," she teased. "And don't worry about it, I'm glad you did what you did." 

The three of them then turned to face the ice again and caught the end of the routine. Alec was unable to judge the quality of it from only the few moments he saw, but the scores came in fairly high. Clearly this was going to be a tough competition. 

Izzy squeezed his shoulder as the next skater took the ice. Alec was scheduled second to last today, with only George going after him. "I'm going to go find Jace and sit with him for the rest of the competition," she said, then wrapped him in one last hug. "I'm so proud of you," she said before standing up with a wave to Magnus. 

Once she was gone Alec and Magnus sat and watched the second skater do their free skate. This time Alec paid attention and noted the flaws and successes both. Izzy had helped him calm his panic over Magnus, but the skill he was surrounded by today was beginning to bring back some of the fear. 

Apparently Magnus, ever wonderful Magnus, could tell. He held a hand out to his pupil and laced their fingers together without a word. Alec couldn't stop the surge of absolute adoration he felt for the man. 

After the second skater Magnus turned to him, hands still tangled together. "Alexander," he murmured, "would you mind terribly if I pulled you away for a moment. There are still a few people before you and if you wanted to stay and watch I wouldn't stop you but-" 

"Yes," Alec blurted out with relief. As much as Magnus' presence was helping, watching the other skaters was inevitably going to psych him out. Especially with Meliorn, last year's Grand Prix silver medalist, going right before him. 

Magnus huffed out a laugh and helped him to his feet. They wandered hand in hand to one of the locker rooms, the same one Alec had been in earlier. Alec sat down on the bench with a sigh and rubbed neck. 

Magnus came up behind him and began working out the kink at the base of Alec's neck. Alec moaned quietly. "You are the best coach ever," he sighed. Magnus chuckled. 

"All you have to do is ask, darling. That goes for wanting to get away too," he added with meaning. Alec rolled his eyes. 

"You always know what I need. I never have to say it." The massage stopped and Magnus walked around to get in front of Alec. He kneeled on the ground and took his hands in his own, beginning to gently massage his fingers. Alec fought down a blush. 

"The competition is pretty stiff out there today," he said to fill the silence. Magnus hummed and nodded. 

"True, but it's nothing you can't handle," he said with a smirk. Alec lost his battle with his blush and felt his cheeks turn red. Magnus' gorgeous eyes were focused right on his own, his lips close enough to kiss if Alec just leaned forward a bit. 

"Anything from the Seelie Queen?" he croaked out. Magnus' face fell for just a moment before he recovered, though he still looked a little preoccupied. 

"No. Hopefully I was just overreacting, projecting my own fears onto the situation. I do tend to expect the worst from people like her. I just couldn't bear it if anything happened to you because of me," he finished, speaking more to himself than to Alec. 

And just like that Alec gave in. He had tried to distance his feelings for Magnus from what he had long believed was just Magnus' flirty personality, but he couldn't do it anymore. The things he said, the attention he paid Alec, the way he looked at him… 

Alec closed the distance between them and smashed his lips against Magnus'. The kiss threw Magnus off balance with a gasp as he tumbled backwards, Alec following him to the floor. Alec immediately pulled back in horror and embarrassment as he lay sprawled on top of his coach. 

"Oh.. oh my god, I am so sorr-" Before he could complete his apology Magnus' hand had wrapped around his neck and tugged him back on top of him for another kiss. 

Alec lost himself in the moment. He could think of nothing but the feeling of Magnus Bane's lips against his own. His heart was racing and he wasn't entirely sure if the kiss was even any good, but it didn't matter. He was kissing Magnus, and Magnus was kissing back. 

After what could have been ten seconds, or an hour, Alec finally pulled back for a breath, only to shudder as Magnus' lips tried to chase his. He watched in wonder as Magnus' eyes opened slowly and marveled at how out of focus they were and how bright his cheeks had become, how red his lips looks. Alec had done that and he really couldn't believe it.

"Alexander," Magnus whispered between them. They were still sprawled on the floor, Alec situated slightly more on top. He let out a shaky breath as Magnus shifted so that they were sitting directly next to each other, their heads pressed together the whole time. Magnus' back was against the lockers while the only thing keeping Alec from falling backwards onto the floor again was his coach's grip on him. 

"Alexander, can I-" 

"Oh, shit!" Both Alec and Magnus nearly screamed as they turned to see the source of the voice that had appeared so suddenly. 

Standing just inside the doorway to the locker room was George and Simon. George was blushing but cleary smiling. Simon was bright red and has both is hands over his mouth, his eyes wide in shock. 

"Magnus, Alec, I'm SO sorry," he mumbled around his hand. "I'll just… go now," he said before backing out the door as quickly as he came in. George laughed at his quick retreat but remained where he was. 

Magnus sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. "Oh Simon, what are we going to do with you?"

Alec raised an eyebrow at him, head cocked to the side. "I thought you didn't know his name?" Magnus winked in response. 

"Hey, congrats guys!" George laughed from the doorway. Alec noted with relief how genuinely excited he looked. "Everyone knew it was bound to happen, some people thought you two were already an item." His face fell a bit. 

"I can get Simon to not tell anyone if you don't want him to. I get how hard this might be for you guys, especially now." Alec was touched that George was offering to carry a secret for them. He looked at Magnus, who was looking at back as if waiting for him to take the lead. 

"Um… maybe just keep it away from the press? At least for now," Alec added quickly at the flash of hurt in Magnus' eyes. He cupped Magnus' face in his hand and pressed a soft kiss to his nose. "We have enough questions to answer without adding these. After the final?" Magnus ducked his head but failed to completely hide a smile from Alec. 

"After the final," he agreed. 

"Cool," George chirped. He winced at the sound of his voice echoing so loudly throughout the room. "I'll just… leave you two alone then. Oh, Alec you're up right after Meliorn though. He's about to skate." Alec smiled at him. 

"Thank you George, really." George nodded back, beaming, and quietly crept out of the room. 

Alec turned back to Magnus, trying to fight back a grin. Magnus was looking at him softly, in a way that Alec had seen before and only now realized the full weight of. 

"Sure you can focus on skating?" Magnus laughed, bumping their heads together lightly. Alec sighed happily. 

"Magnus, I wanted to say-"

And this time they were interrupted by a scream. 

They both immediately jumped back from one another, meetings each other's eyes in horror. 

"That sounded like-" Magnus began. 

"George!" Alec finished as he scrambled to his feet, Magnus following right behind him. The scream had come from the hallway outside of the locker room, and as Alec and Magnus tumbled out the door they were met with a terrifying sight. 

George Lovelace was crumpled on the ground, sobbing loudly. He was holding onto his head which both of them could clearly see even from a distance was covered in blood. Alec felt his heart stop as he shouted George's name and rushed to his side. 

He came to a stop next to his fellow skater and carefully took his hand away from the wound. There was so much blood, he couldn't even tell where it was actually coming from. He felt Magnus rush past him, calling out for help to anyone he passed, but he was too focused on trying to get a response from George to really see where he was going. 

Suddenly hands were pulling him away and people he assumed were medics took his place at George's side. His eyes never left George's face and he watched in terror as George seemed to fade in and out of consciousness. 

"Is he gonna be ok?" he barely heard himself mumble as he was dragged away gently. Someone pulled him into a chair in the hall and forced him to look away and focus on them. Looking back at him was a woman with dark skin and dark blue eyes. Alec recognized her somewhere in the back of his mind as Catarina Loss, the skater Magnus was friends with and had mentioned would also be in Moscow. 

"Alexander?" she was saying, trying to keep him from turning to look at George. "Alexander, I need you to look at me and breathe, alright?" she coaxed. Alec sucked in a breath, feeling his hands shaking as they clutched the seat below him. 

"Is he gonna be ok?" he begged again, looking her directly in the eyes. She took a brief look over at where more people had gathered and a stretcher was being wheeled over. "I don't know yet, but let's make sure you're alright first, how about that?" 

Alec looked around in a panic. "Where's Magnus?" he muttered in alarm. 

Catarina shook her head. "I don't know exactly, but he ran right past me on my way over. He's fine Alec, don't worry about it."

A few moments later the stretcher went by and Alec's heart stopped yet again at the sight of George, covered in blood and now completely unconscious with an oxygen mask over his face. He let out a sob and put his face in his hands, barely hearing Catarina as she hushed him and rubbed his back. 

A large crowd of people had gathered at the other end of the hall, all of them looking terrified. Someone was yelling about getting the judges and officials, to fill them in on the attack. Alec felt his blood run cold. Attack. George Lovelace, the kindest person he had ever met, a first time senior, had been attacked. 

His head sprung up at the sound of Magnus' voice coming from a fire exit. He had yanked open the door and was pulling someone along by the hood of a black sweatshirt. Even from where Alec was he could see the rage on his coach's face. 

"Tell them we have who did it!" he yelled as he yanked the hood off the person's head. 

Familiar long blonde hair tumbled out, causing Alec to gasp. Kaelie Whitewillow was seething and trying her best to wrestle her way out of Magnus' grasp on her elbow. In Magnus' other hand was what looked to be a crowbar, the end of it dripping with blood. 

Two security guards came and grabbed Kaelie and the weapon, dragging her off past where Alec and Catarina were. When they passed in front of Alec, she made eye contact with him for a moment, her face filled with fury and loathing. 

Magnus was then at his side, taking his shaking hands form Catarina's. 

"Hey," he whispered as he pressed his forehead to Alec's. "Come on, let's get you out of here." He carefully helped Alec stand and steered him towards the same fire exit he had just appeared from. Alec didn't say anything and allowed himself to be dragged away. He finally spoke up when they got back to the main rink. 

"What about the competition?" he said through his daze. Magnus sighed but kept pulling him along. 

"There's no way it's going to continue today. The police will want to talk to people, figure out who knows what." Alec frowned, momentarily confused. 

"Wasn't it Kaelie? Didn't you say she…" he swallowed around the lump in his throat, "attacked George?" 

Magnus nodded and came to a stop, putting his hands on his pupil's shoulders and looking his directly in the eyes. "She did. But that doesn't mean she was acting alone, or if George was even the target." Alec didn't understand what he meant, and Magnus clearly saw that in his face. He heaved a sigh and pressed a soft kiss to Alec's forehead. 

"Darling, Kaelie Whitehallow isn't here competing today. She's still in juniors. Her coach, however, is." Alec felt all of the blood drain from his face. Over Magnus' shoulder he saw Meliorn, who was currently yelling at an official. Apparently everything had happened right in the middle of his short program. And standing next to him was the Seelie Queen, her long red hair tied tied back in a braid, a cool collected look on her face. She made eye contact with Alec and while he felt like he was going to throw up, she didn't even bat an eye. 

"I'm sorry to inform you gentlemen," a voice with a heavy Russian accent interrupted them, "but the competition is going to be postponed while an investigation is launched. One of the skaters has been attacked and the ISU don't feel like it is a good idea to continue today. Were either of you two anywhere near the incident?" 

Alec felt himself nod as he swallowed down the bile rising in his throat. 

"Yes, we were," Magnus answered cooly. He reached down and laced his fingers through Alec's and gave them a quick squeeze of encouragement. 

"Would you mind giving a statement? The culprit was caught, but any information you have could be potentially helpful." 

"Of course," Magnus responded hoarsely. The man gestured for them to come with him. Magnus looked at Alec with a mix of fear and anger in his eyes. Alec took a deep breath before nodding slightly, and they fell in step behind the man hand in hand.

* * *

 

It wasn't until around five o'clock that they were back at the hotel. The ride from the rink had been in silence, as both had much to say but wanted to be sure no one would hear them. The interrogation had been long, if not overly thorough. The Russian authorities clearly thought that Kaelie had been out to get George, though the motiv seemed lacking. 

Magnus had had to hold his tongue. He knew what it was really about, but he didn't have the proof yet and he didn't want to keep him and Alec there any longer than they had to. Alec had been through enough and already looked dead on his feet. Magnus wasn't sure if he had noticed in all of the chaos but there was still some blood on his hands and certainly some staining the sleeves of his costume. 

The two walked into the hotel through the service entrance in an attempt to avoid press. They were finally left completely alone in the elevator up to the fourteenth floor, and yet neither of them spoke. 

Isabelle and Jace had been texting Magnus for hours, and he was sure they were also trying to get in touch with Alec. He had asked them to meet in Jace and Alec's room, allowing Clary and Simon to join them when Jace mentioned how broken up Simon had seemed.

Alec tried to open the door but his hand was shaking too badly to get the card into the slot. Magnus' heart broke at the sight. What had first been shock at the attack had turned into fear when Magnus had explained to him that Kaelie might have had another plan in mind. As much as he didn't want to frighten Alec he didn't regret telling him. 

Magnus reached out and placed his hand over Alec to help steady the shaking and guided it through the motion. He heard Alec's sigh of relief and the quiet, "Thank you,' as the door opened. 

Inside Jace and Izzy were sitting on Alec's bed. Clary was perched on Jace's while Simon sat in the desk chair. Magnus was struck by how lifeless Simon looked, and Clary didn't look much better. Both of Alec's siblings visibly brightened at the sight of their brother, but the atmosphere of the room was too heavy to be lifted. 

"Oh thank god," Isabelle whispered as she launched herself from the bed to pull her brother in for a hug. Magnus closed the door behind them and snuck past the duo to collapse on Alec's bed. Jace put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a concerned look, but Magnus just shot him a wane smile for the time being. 

Isabelle released her hold and tugged Alec over to sit on his bed, herself sitting next to Clary and holding his hands. "We tried to get down to the floor after whatever happened, but police and security were telling everyone the competition was going to be postponed. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Simon got a text from George's coach saying he was attacked." 

Magnus watched as Alec winced at the words, and while he ached to reach out for him there would simply have to be time for that later. 

"He was in surgery last I heard," Simon croaked. He cleared his throat and rubbed at his eyes before continuing. "They're, uh, still not sure on if he's gonna… if he's gonna make it." He closed his eyes against the tears that were clearly threatening to come and took a deep breathe. "Even if he does, it was a blow to the fucking head. Who knows what that's gonna do to him." 

Clary reached out and took her friend's hand. She turned to look at Magnus and Alec. "Magnus told us to meet here so we could talk about what happened. You two were there, right? Simon told us he and George had been looking for somewhere to do their pre-competition luck routine when they ran into you two?" 

Magnus raised his eyebrows at that knowledge, but decided to wait for a more appropriate time to ask for details. "Indeed. Simon… left, but George hung back to talk to us for a minute. Then he walked out the door and a few seconds later we heard a scream." Magnus explained. He sighed and rubbed at his brow. 

"Alec and I rushed out into the hall. I noticed George on the floor and I saw the door to a fire exit fly open. I left George with Alec and ran after whoever I saw, hoping it was the attacker. Turns out it was. In retrospect it was stupid of me to leave Alec alone," he muttered the last part to himself, the day finally catching up with him. What if there had been another attacker waiting to finish the job if something went wrong…

"Who was it?" Simon demanded. He was fully focused on Magnus now, eyes blazing. Magnus winced internally as he said, 

"Kaelie Whitewillow." 

All four of them gasped, Clary's free hand flying to her mouth. "It can't be!" she stammered. "Kaelie's mean, and competitive, but she'd never do something like this!" 

Jace barked out a harsh laugh and looked Clary in the eyes. "You've only had to compete against her Clary. Trust me, I'm surprised but not because I don't think she could do it if she wanted to." 

"But why did she?" Simon asked. "He's not her competitor, he's not even in juniors anymore! As far as I know they barely even knew each other!" 

Magnus looked at Alec then. They both knew they needed to explain Magnus' theory, but that didn't mean they wanted to. Alec gave a curt nod signaling Magnus to go ahead. 

"Well," Magnus began hesitantly, "I guess I should begin by saying I don't have any proof for this, so we can't take it to the authorities. It is my belief is that Kaelie didn't mean to attack George. I'm almost positive she was after me or Alec." 

His declaration was met by silence. Everyone was looking at him in shock, so he decided to continue. 

"Kaelie's coach and I have a bit of a past. Long story short she blames me for losing her best skater, and she's loathed me ever since. I was… worried when I heard she was going to be at Rostelecom. I even mentioned it to Alec, told him we should be on our guard, but I never thought it would go this far…"

"And you didn't think to tell security, or the ISU, that you felt threatened? That you thought Alec was going to be threatened?" Izzy seethed. Alec squeezed her hand and send a watery smile her way. 

"Like he said Iz, he didn't know. I think we both thought the worst she could do was psych me out, put me off my game. I was supposed to compete against her skater Meliorn today, so it made sense why she would want to mess with my head." 

"I always knew she was ruthless, but I would have hired my own bodyguards for us if I thought she was going to do something like this," Magnus said solemnly. Izzy nodded curtly in response. 

"So you think she made Kaelie do it?" Simon asked incredulously. Jace rolled his eyes. 

"Please. I bet her coach mentioned the idea and she jumped at the opportunity. She worships that woman, it was all she ever talked about. Skating and 'The Seelie Queen'." Magnus nodded in agreement. 

"But then why did she end up attacking George?" Clary interjected. 

"My guess is that Kaelie saw me and Alec leave the floor and followed us. She probably ducked into another doorway and waited for us to come back out, which is why I'm not sure if she was after one or both of us. She probably heard Simon and George go in, but then heard Simon leave and thought they left together. So when the door opened again and someone walked by her hiding spot-" 

"And accidentally attacked George," Simon breathed out. He looked horrified and Magnus felt terrible for being the one to tell him his friend might die for something that had nothing to do with him at all. 

"But you don't have any proof?" Jace asked after they all absorbed the information for a moment. Magnus shook his head sadly. 

"It's just a theory, but you have to understand. The pieces are all there. Kaelie was the perfect choice because she and Alec never got along when she was dating Jace. If she got caught she would go to jail, sure, but even then there would be a way to turn suspicion off of her coach." 

"Do you really think this woman hates you enough to kill Alec?" Izzy whimpered. Magnus saw Alec flinch and this time he couldn't stop himself from sliding to sit directly next to him. 

"I'm not entirely sure Isabelle. It might have just been Kaelie taking it too far, or that might have been the plan all along. I have a suspicion that we are never going to find out, as I can almost guarantee that Kaelie isn't going to talk. She's too loyal, and she won't want to fuck up any more than she already has." 

Simon's head was in his hands. "I can't believe this," he breathed. He looked up with a sniffle and stared at the wall. "So we can't take it to the police and this bitch just gets away with it?" 

Magnus and Alec glance at each other. "Kaelie will most certainly go to jail. We'll have to come up with another way to get the Seelie Queen. But right now… I'm afraid so." Magnus said. 

The room was consumed with a heavy silence as all of the information was processed. "Come on Simon. I think we should probably call it a night," Clary said finally as she stood from the bed and helped him from the chair. She walked over and gave Magnus a kiss on the cheek and even stopped to wrap Alec in a quick hug. From the doorway she gave a wave to Izzy and Jace. Simon still seemed dazed and upset, but before they left the room he turned back and cleared his throat. 

"But you are gonna get her right?" 

Magnus nodded gravely. "Mark my words, Simon. This isn't over." Simon nodded once then turned to follow Clary, letting the door click shut behind them. 

Isabelle finally let go of Alec's hands and rubbed at her eyes. "I told the ballet school I wouldn't be back until tomorrow night," she said with a dry laugh. "I thought I would have another day of competition to watch. Is it ok if I sleep in here, even on the floor?" 

"Of course you can," Alec said quietly. He turned his head to look at Magnus. "You can even have the bed. I can... stay in Magnus' room tonight?" he queried.  

Magnus was surprised at the request but conceded without a thought. A weight he didn't realize was there immediately lifted knowing that he wasn't going to have to sleep alone after everything that had happened that day, and that Alec would be close by.

"Absolutely. You can even have your own bed," he tried to joke, knowing it would fall flat. 

Jace clapped a hand on Alec's shoulder from his other side. "This is bullshit dude," he said in his usual matter of fact way. It caused a small smile to form on Alec's face, making Magnus feel at least a little better himself. Something about Alec's smile always made the worst situations seem manageable. 

"Yeah, Jace. It sure is," Alec responded. Jace pushed himself off of the bed and Alec followed him. The two hugged, Alec then turning to do the same for his sister. 

"I'm just gonna brush my teeth," he mumbled as he made his way into the bathroom and shut the door. 

The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes as they listened to the water running. Magnus could imagine the blood running off of Alec's hands, washed away down the drain in a way that the memories of today never would be. Isabelle seemed to be appraising Magnus before suddenly pulling him into his own bone crushing hug. 

"You promise you're gonna take care of him, yeah?" she whispered in his ear. He could feel the desperation and fear in her voice. 

"I swear to you," he rumbled back. "I will do everything in my power to keep him safe." Izzy pulled back with a nod just as Alec came out dressed now in black sweatpants and a grey tshirt, his hands thankfully clean of dried blood and his cheeks suspiciously red as if he had been scrubbing at tears. 

With one last goodnight and a pat on the back from Jace, Magnus led the way down the hall to his room. They entered quietly and Alec gingerly sat down on the unoccupied bed. Magnus stepped into the bathroom and went through his nightly routine as quickly as he could with the amounts of makeup and hair product he had on. He jumped into the shower and scrubbed the day away, then decided to forgo drying his hair and simply dressed for bed and brushed his teeth. In all it probably took him around fifteen minutes, but when he emerged he found Alec curled up in his bed, arms wrapped around on of the pillows Magnus had been using. 

Magnus approached quietly in case he was already asleep. 

"I know you said I could have my own bed, but can I sleep with you?" he heard from the bed. He let out a quiet sigh and climbed in on the side farther from the door. He saw one of Alec's beautiful eyes peeping out from the pillow, slightly red even in the poor lighting. Magnus reached over him carefully and snapped off the bedside lamp, plunging them into darkness. 

"Of course, love," he said quietly. "Whatever you want."

He laid his head down on the pillow next to Alec's head, and Alec rearranged himself to be on his side so that they were looking directly at one another. For a minute or so they lay in silence, not touching, until Magnus watched a tear escape Alec's eye. He reached up and wiped it away while hushing him soothingly. Alec grabbed onto the hand on his cheek and held it there. 

Magnus let them remain that way for a bit before moving his arm to wrap around Alec's waist and pull him closer. 

"I'm so scared Magnus," Alec whimpered. Magnus felt his heart breaking at the look on his face. 

"I know. I'm so, so sorry this happened," he replied.

"I wish George hadn't been involved," Alec continued, making Magnus smile ruefully. 

"You can't blame yourself. No one could have known. And you have no idea how much I wish you hadn't been involved," he added regretfully. Alec returned his smile. 

"And you can't blame yourself for that," he reasoned. "You're right. I feel… awful about George. I would do anything to go back in time and stop it. But it's no one's fault but the Seelie Queen and Kaelie." 

Magnus inclined his head in concession. "Agreed. We have to believe George is gonna be ok. I don't know how I am going to reconcile with this world if he isn't," he confessed in the air between them. Alec nodded, another tear escaping. 

"He's gonna be fine. I know he is," Alec responded with more confidence than Magnus believed he felt, but he didn't call him out on it. They needed all the confidence they could get.

The two of them stayed like that, chest to chest with arms wrapped around one another for the rest of the night as they struggled to fall asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently I am unable to craft a plot that doesn't include some kind of conspiracy. Poor Malec, getting their sweet moment interrupted by a brutal assault. Will their love prevail? Will George survive? Will I ever stop writing this story in spite of all of the ideas that keep popping into my head? Stay turned to find out!


	7. You Reap What You Sow

The competition was rescheduled for the following week. The ISU apologized profusely for being unable to postpone it any longer, but Skate America still had to be fit in before the final, and moving anything else would have been a scheduling nightmare. 

The main reason the Rostelecom Cup even continued was that George Lovelace survived his attack and requested that the show go on himself. He went into surgery as soon has he reached the hospital where the situation was touch and go for a few hours. It was officially announced the Monday after the halted competition that he was recovering and that one of the first things he had said upon waking up was that he wanted the competition to continue. 

Alec and Magnus had been overwhelmingly relieved at the news that George was alive and in recovery. The two days between when the attack had occurred and the day George's status was revealed had weighed heavy on everyone. Magnus tried to keep his mind occupied by finding a way to expose the Seelie Queen but had come up empty. She had covered her tracks well and, as he had predicted, Kaelie was saying nothing. 

Izzy had to return to her classes on Monday. Magnus could tell how much it pained her to leave her brother at such a desperate time, but Alec insisted that she go. They rest of the group had parted ways with her before the announcement from George's coach came, though she immediately called to share in their relief. 

So the competition was set for that weekend. Everyone had four more days to prepare. Magnus could tell as soon as it was announced that Alec had been hoping it was either cancelled entirely or scheduled to begin again immediately just to get it over with. His shoulders had dropped and his eyes grew dark at the news. 

Magnus and Alec had spent the time that Magnus wasn't making phone calls and fielding press together, usually curled up in the hotel watching terrible Russian soap operas. While the guilt and fear were ever present the two had successfully managed to avoid much of the real world for those days, enjoying the fragile peace they found in one another.

But now they were expected to get back in the public eye, with Alec still the gold medalist of the Cup of China and with a new reputation to uphold. Before the attack there had been a good chance that Alec would have been able to pull it off and enter the final with two golds under his belt. However, Magnus could tell by the look in his Alexander's eyes that there was no way he was going to be able to skate the way he would have before everything with George happened.

After the press conference finished, Magnus shut the TV off and tugged Alec back to what had become their room, leaving Jace, Simon and Clary alone to celebrate George's improved state. Magnus wanted to discuss the situation with Alec but he didn't want to bum everyone, especially Simon, out again just when they had gotten the news that George was going to be alright. 

Alec crawled into bed as soon as the door was shut and gestured for Magnus to join him. Magnus wrapped his arms around him and pulled his chest to his back, tucking his chin on Alec's shoulder as he guided them to lay down on their side. 

"Alright Alexander, talk to me. I saw that look, tell me what you're thinking," Magnus whispered. He felt Alec sigh heavily before responding. 

"I know George wants us to finish the competition, but I just… I don't want to go back there," he whimpered. Magnus hated seeing his usually lively, if a little shy, student deal with such fear. 

"You don't have to, you know. I've told you before, you're personal health comes before skating. I can try and explain to the ISU if you still want to go to the final and just can't participate here, or if you don't want to compete this year at all-" 

"No!" Alec snapped. "I am not backing out of this, we can't let the Seelie Queen get what she wants!" 

"And you think going up against Meliorn despite what she's done is going to make it better?' Magnus asked incredulously. Alec remained silent. Magnus pulled on Alec's shoulder until he turned onto his back and then propped himself up on one elbow to look down at Alec. 

"Darling. I've sifted through every possible thing we could do to take her down but none of them are going to work. We cannot win here. All we can do is gracefully bow out and leave the whole thing behind us." 

"I will not give in," Alec growled defiantly. 

"And I will not let her have the chance to take another swing at you!" Magnus cried. He saw A;ec's features soften slightly as Alec reached up to cup his cheek. 

"She won't," he whispered between them. "Not here at least. That last one was a plan, well thought through and meticulously carried out. It went wrong and she got away with it anyway. There's no way she'll risk trying something again. The only way she comes out on top, despite everything she has tried to do, is if I don't show up and compete on Saturday." 

Magnus swallowed around the lump that was rising in his throat. "I wish I had that level of confidence, Alexander," he breathed. Alec's face broke into a weak smile. 

"You know that's what I always used to think when I watched you skate? I wanted your level of confidence, the way you skated like there wasn't even a possibility you would make a mistake." Magnus huffed quiet laugh. 

"And every single moment of it an act. I was shaking in my skates every time, I promise you that." Alec nodded and pulled the older man down on top of him, fitting him against his side. 

"Exactly. I'm just as afraid as you are about this whole thing Magnus. I just… I can't let it stop me." 

Magnus closed his eyes and sighed into the space between them. "You wouldn't be my Alexander if you did, I suppose. I'm not letting you out of my sight while we're there though, do you understand me?" 

Alec snickered, which made Magnus' heart flutter. "Yes sensei," he replied mockingly. Magnus gasped and rolled on top of him, digging is fingers into his side as Alec shook with laughter. 

"Seriously, where did this insubordination come from?" Magnus giggled as he peppered Alec's face with kisses. 

Alec caught one of them with his mouth and ran a hand through Magnus' hair, making him shiver slightly. They kissed lazily for a few minutes before Alec pulled back with a hum and opened his eyes. Magnus would never get over how beautiful he was. 

"I guess you're not as scary as I thought you were," Alec said with a soft smile before pulling Magnus down for another kiss. 

Magnus chuckled into the kiss before pulling back and laying back against Alec's side. "I've been told I am a lot of things darling, but scary has not been one of them." 

Alec sighed and pressed a kiss to Magnus' temple. "You know what I mean. I was so in awe of you, when you showed up in Day I thought I was dreaming for weeks."

"I do seem to remember you asking me repeatedly if I was sure I was in the right place," Magnus mused. He sobered then, and wrapped an arm around Alec's waist. 

"You know I'm very proud of you, right? Whether you finish the competition this year or not, you have grown so much since I met you. Don't go through with this just to prove something to me." 

Alec shook his head. "That's not why. I have to do this for myself, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let backed out now. What happened was so unfair and I just cannot let it go." He squeezed Magnus' shoulder. "But I promise I won't leave your side except to be on the ice, alright?" 

Magnus nodded and laid his head down on Alec's chest. That was going to have to be good enough. 

* * *

For all that Alec had acted brave on Monday, returning to the rink on Saturday was a lot harder than he had anticipated.

It had been raining when he and Magnus woke up that morning, and Alec's first thought had been that he did not, under any circumstances, want to get out of bed. His second thought had been that even more than that, he did not want to go back to the Rostelecom Cup. 

He had meant what he had told Magnus earlier that week. He was going to go through with it both to show the Seelie Queen that he wasn't going to be scared by her, and to skate for George who was going to be present at the competition to cheer everyone on. 

That didn't mean he wasn't completely terrified. The moment the car pulled up outside of the rink Alec felt his heart speed up and his palms begin to sweat. It wasn't nervousness this time, at least not the kind that usually came for him during competition. All he could think of as he stared up at the stadium was the blood on his hands as he tried apply pressure to George's head and stop him from passing out. 

Magnus had weaved their fingers together once he saw how upset Alec was getting and shot him a worried look, but Alec waved him off. He was happy that Magnus was concerned about him but he didn't want any more talk of him not competing. Whether he wanted to or not, Alec knew he had to at least try. 

This time Jace stayed with Magnus and Alec as they went through the motions of getting Alec dressed, stretching, and heading to the rink to warm up. Just as Alec got ready to skate out onto the ice Jace pulled him into a hug. 

"This is where I should probably go find a seat," he said into Alec's ear. He let out a shuddering breath and pulled back. "I'll sit as close to an exit as I can in case… you know…" Alec nodded and gave his brother a weak smile, who responded with a solemn nod and a pat on Magnus' shoulder before he headed off to the stands. 

"He certainly seems confident," Magnus muttered. Alec swallowed heavily and wrapped his coach in a quick hug. 

"I saw some press hanging around earlier. Do me a favor and field some questions for me while I'm on the ice?" he begged. Magnus nodded and pressed a kiss to his cheek. 

"You got it. I'll be right here when you get off and we can go take a quick break somewhere," he said before putting on his brightest smile and turning on his heels to go talk to the gaggle of journalists in the corner.

Alec sighed and stepped onto the ice. He had missed it this past week. While he had kept up his usual fitness routine he had not practiced his programs since before the disastrous competition, unwilling as he was to return to the location where it had all gone down. Despite everything the ice was still where he was the most comfortable, and it was a small relief to be back. 

Not many other skaters were on the ice yet. The ones that were politely said hello but refrained from asking any questions about what had happened, much to Alec's relief. He needed to focus, and he knew that the press would want to hear about it from him after the competition. He wanted to retell the story as few times as he could manage. 

A few minutes later, after Alec had gotten into the swing of warming up again, Meliorn skated past him. At first he was just another skater that had joined him on the ice, but then Alec's brain caught up to his eyes and he skidded to a halt. 

Turning around, Alec watched Meliorn practice. He truly was good, his motions effortless and graceful. Certainly deserving of the silver medals he had earned against Magnus in previous years. But Alec didn't care about any of that, no. He was scanning the path Meliorn was taking in search of-

There she was. Today her hair was braided like a crown around her head and she wore a grey fur coat and knee high heeled boots. The appropriate term would be 'dressed to kill', but Alec tried to block that thought out of his head. 

As if she could feel his eyes on her, the Seelie Queen looked over at Alec. She held eye contact as she slowly grinned, her teeth blindingly white against the deep red of her lips. Alec felt a chill run down his spine at the sight and he immediately knew he needed to get off of the ice and calm down.

He looked to the exit of the ice and saw Magnus looking in the same direction he was, eyes narrowed at the Seelie Queen. Alec hurried to him and tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. 

"How long was I out there?" he asked as he panted. Magnus tore his eyes away from the other coach and checked his phone. 

"Long enough. They'll be asking everyone to clear in the ice in two minutes anyway. Let's go… this way," he decided after looking around, and Alec felt a weight lifted as Magnus led him in the opposite direction of where George had been attacked. 

There was still a strange sense of deja vu as they walked hand in hand down the hallways of the arena. This side was identical to the other, so while Alec logically knew this wasn't where everything had happened, the place still put him on edge. Magnus peaked into a locker room and, determining that it was vacant, allowed Alec to go in first before looking in the hallway to ensure they weren't followed and closing the door behind them. 

"Are you sure you're alright, love?" Magnus asked. Alec sat on a bench and put his head in his hands. Magnus sat down next to him and rubbed his back gently. 

"Yeah," Alec breathed. "Seeing her kinda… spooked me. But I'll be good, I swear." 

"You have nothing to prove Alexander. Just say the word and we can walk out of here." Magnus reminded him. Alec straightened up and looked his coach in the eyes. 

"Do you think I can't do this?" he questioned. Magnus looked startled at the accusation. 

"Wha- no, I don't think that at all. I'm just saying-" 

"You keep trying to talk me out of competing. Do you think I'm gonna go out there and mess up so badly that you don't even want me to try?" Alec knew he was being unfair, but the pressure of the day was starting to mount. Seeing Meliorn and his coach broke through the remaining sense of peace that had accumulated over the last few days and now not only was there the usual stress of performing there was now the additional anxiety of a looming threat. 

Magnus didn't respond for a moment, though Alec could see the hurt in his eyes. He moved to take the statement back but Magnus spoke before he could. 

"Alexander. No matter what, you have to know I have the utmost amount of faith in you. I don't care if you don't win gold, I don't care about my own reputation. All I care about is that you are safe and while we are here I know I can't guarantee that. And I understand why you want to go through with this, and I'm not going to stop you, but I just need you to understand that you wouldn't be letting anybody down if you didn't." 

Alec sighed and laced his fingers together with Magnus'. "I'm happy that you'd support me if I decided to drop out of the competition. But I'm not going to do that, so what I need now is for you to support me anyway." 

Magnus grimaced but nodded solemnly. "I can do that," he said. Alec brought his knuckles to his lips and pressed a kiss to them before mouthing 'thank you'. 

"Now," Alec said, "tell me about your conversation with the press." 

The two sat and discussed what questions had been asked and went through what they would say after the competition was over until the time came for Alec to be on the ice. They walked back to the rink on high alert but fortunately didn't run into any hooded figures brandishing crowbars. They returned just in time to see the scores read off for the skater before him, who had done well enough to put them in second place, just behind Malcolm Fade. As his name was announced Alec removed his skate guards and turned to face his coach. 

Magnus pressed his now customary kiss to Alec's cheek and wrapped him in a hug. "This is me supporting you," he breathed, making Alec chuckle through his nerves. 

"I appreciate it," he replied. And then he was at center ice. 

As soon as he began skating Alec knew it wasn't going to be good enough to win. His step sequence was tight but his jumps were wobbly on almost every landing. His mind kept jumping back and forth between 'The Seelie Queen is watching' and 'Focus, dammit, focus!' He didn't wipe out and he didn't back down from any jumps, but he knew as he struck his final pose that the performance had been good, but certainly not great. 

As he skated off of the rink to his coach his whole body felt heavy with the weight of failure. He had come back to the competition to prove to the Seelie Queen that she hadn't bested him but he had still managed to fail, if not miserably. Magnus was whispering something in his ear but the sound of his own thoughts was drowning him out. 

The scores only confirmed Alec's fears. They were still better than most other skaters, but for him to have a chance at beating Meliorn he would have had to come in above all the people before him. Instead he was in fourth with the short program, meaning that the day would almost certainly close with Meliorn entering the free skate in the top spot. 

Magnus asked quietly if he wanted to leave the rink while Meliorn skated, saying they could claim it was to avoid press. Alec shook his head and took a seat rinkside, his disappointment and frustration slowly turning to anger. 

Meliorn didn't deserve to win. His coach was cheating, taking out the competition by force because she was too scared to let her skater try and win fairly. Whether Meliron knew about the attack or not (and Alec had a suspicion based on the way the other skater looked at him with barely concealed loathing that he did), there wouldn't be any justice at all in this world if Meliorn got gold at the Grand Prix Final. 

Alec did have to admit that Meliorn skated beautifully during his performance, adding insult to injury. With that kind of skill there was a strong possibility he would have beat Alec even at the top of his game, making the attack on George all for nothing. The need to guarantee a win was so poisonous that it had seeped into their brains and led to the attempted murder of an innocent young man. 

Alec looked up to where George was seated. He was behind glass and had a bandage wrapped around his head. He was focused on the ice below but looked tired, like he was struggling to keep his eyes open, and there were family and paramedics standing nearby in case something happened. It was all so unfair. 

As he stared at the scoreboard that now placed Meliorn in first, Alec began to think. 

* * *

Magnus was getting worried about Alec. After the short program he had been quiet and reserved. He didn't seem necessarily upset from his fourth place slot but he seemed to be oddly distant and wrapped in his own thoughts.

All attempts to get him to talk were met with one word answers, and Alec had calmly asked to speak to the press after the whole competition was over instead of immediately, which Magnus had managed to accommodate by sneaking them out a fire exit. 

After returning to the hotel the two met up with Jace, who offered a weak congratulations that clearly showed he was trying to be supportive but knew Alec had only performed the way he did because of the circumstances. Magnus had meant what he had said. He didn't care about what Alec's performance did to his own reputation, but he did fear media that would latch onto his perceived drop in skill and attribute his gold in China to beginner's luck. 

The three of them ate room service, then Magnus and Alec left to get some sleep before the free skate the following day. Clary and Simon had had to leave earlier in the week in order to prepare for her own junior competition in Japan, but they had stopped by to see George in the hospital beforehand, much to Simon's relief. 

Once they were prepared for bed the two climbed under the comforter. Alec was still spacey, but Magnus had decided he wasn't going to let him go to sleep without talking about whatever was clearly bothering him.

"You know you're going to have to talk to me eventually, right?" he said into the darkness. He saw Alec's gaze sharpen and a soft smile appeared on his lips. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I've just had a lot to think over I guess." Magnus nodded sympathetically. 

"I can imagine. You did well today, no matter what the scores say." 

"I can do better though," Alec countered with a slight frown. "I wasn't focused, I let her into my head every time I geared up for a jump, and the memory of that fall last year kept creeping in on top of it-" 

Magnus held a finger to his lips and hushed him. "You did well, Alexander. You know what went wrong and you clearly know how to fix it. I don't even think you really need me anymore." 

Alec huffed out a laugh and pressed a kiss to Magnus' forehead. "Don't put yourself down like that, coach. Just think of yourself as… moral support."

Magnus opened his mouth in faux shock. "You're delegating me to Jace's role now? You really don't need me at all!" 

Alec finally released a full laugh and fell onto his back. Magnus hadn't realized how much he missed Alec's real laugh since last week until he heard it again. 

Magnus grinned and cuddled up to Alec's side. "Get some sleep so you can crush them tomorrow, yeah?" he said. He felt Alec's arm come around him and a kiss pressed into his hair. 

"You got it," he heard whispered back. 

The next morning dawned bright, the sun having returned after the previous day of clouds and rain. Magnus awoke alone to the sound of the shower running and he groaned at the thought of going back to the rink for one more day. He hated the way Alec reacted to the space and he knew that a big part of his anxiety stemmed from returning to the location where he could have been killed. 

When Alec emerged from the bathroom his hair was sticking every which way and his skin was scrubbed pink. The sight made Magnus' heart stop as he looked his student up and down, taking in every inch of him. He saw the moment his favorite blush returned to Alec's cheeks, darkening the pink skin of his cheeks to a darker shade of scarlet. 

"What are you looking at?" Alec asked as he ducked his head to put a tshirt on. Magnus grinned and rolled onto his side, propping his head up with an arm. 

"The most gorgeous human being I've ever seen," he replied. The blush reached all the way down Alec's chest into vneck of the shirt then as he rolled his eyes and threw the towel he was using to dry his hair at Magnus. 

"Yeah, yeah. Flattery will get you nowhere, Mr. Bane.  Now get up, we have to be at the rink in an hour." Magnus blinked in surprise at the tone of Alec's voice. As opposed to yesterday following his performance where he sounded resigned and distant, today he sounded… the best word Magnus could think of was determined. 

"Sir, yes sir," he responded solemnly as he swung out of bed, pressing a kiss to Alec's cheek as he passed him to enter the bathroom. 

"And good morning," he whispered into his ear. "Order some breakfast for me, will you?" he called as he shut the door behind him. 

"Already did, it should be here soon!" Alec responded. Magnus felt his face split into a grin. His Alexander was so thoughtful. 

Once his shower was complete and his daily routine finished, Magnus was delighted to discover that Alec had indeed ordered breakfast and was waiting for him to dig in. Alec talked mindlessly as they ate and something about his demeanor today put Magnus in a good mood. For a few moments it seemed like the whole debacle that was the Rostelecom Cup was worlds away. 

But it was not, and they didn't have much time to waste talking before they had to be rushing out the door, Magnus triple checking that Alec had everything he needed. The two met up with Jace in the lobby, who was tapping his foot and grumbling about them being on time and why was he the only one that could read a clock?

Magnus tried his best not to let his personal anxiety about the day show since Alec was in such good spirits. While he knew Alec's free skate was his stronger performance, yesterday had been predictably hard on him. Nothing had changed as far as the conditions he was skating under, so Magnus could only hope that he was at least focused enough to day to avoid breaking any bones. 

Unlike the previous day, Alec used every minute of warm up time when they were done with stretching. He skated onto the ice much more confident than Magnus thought he would. The thought made him grimace internally and he remind himself of Alec's request to support him in his decision to skate despite the possible danger. Really that was the only reason he shouldn't be as confident as he was coming off today; Alec was a phenomenal skater whose skill was leaps and bounds ahead of most others his age and even in the senior division as a whole.

Whatever it was that had gotten into Alec, Magnus wasn't going to complain. He panicked briefly when Meliorn took the ice but today Alec didn't even seem to notice. He remained focused on his exercises and pulled off a few flawless jumps before time was called and the skaters were told to leave the ice for the competition to begin. 

"You looked great out there," Magnus said as he slung and arm around Alec's shoulder and steered him off for their customary alone time. Alec smiled, his eyes hard with determination. 

"Thanks," he breathed, "I got a lot of points to make up today." 

Magnus raised his eyebrows in surprise and decided to ask, "You gonna win this thing then?" 

Alec shrugged good naturedly, but his eyes continued to hold that defiance that had been there since that morning. "Only one way to find out," he said. 

They ducked into a locker room and breathed together for a few minutes while Magnus talked him through the program, highlighting what he should pay special attention to based on yesterday's performance at Alec's request. 

When it came time for him to compete Magnus pressed his usual kiss dangerously close to the side of Alec's mouth this time, barely able to stop himself from kissing him fully on the lips. With a whispered, "You can do this," he sent his blushing student onto the ice, trying his best to match the level of confidence Alec had. 

Watching Alec skate was always enthralling to Magnus, no matter how many times he's seen it. This time had an extra layer of wonder riding on the back of a tough previous day as Alec soared across the ice, landing jump after jump with an ease that would have seemed impossible only yesterday. Magnus could barely take his eyes away, but he did find a moment to glance at the Seelie Queen on the other end of the rink and was equal parts thrilled and nervous at the barely concealed rage that was trying to break through her stoic expression. 

After landing his quadruple lutz Alec finished his program and struck his final pose. It wasn't a flawless routine, but Magnus could tell it was good enough to put him back in the running for the competition as a whole and he could not have been more proud. 

Alec skated off the ice, waving to the crowd with a wide smile, and walked right into Magnus' waiting arms. He wrapped his student in a hug and peppered his face with kisses until Alec begged him to stop through laughter. Alec then pulled him over to the kiss and cry to receive his scores. 

Magnus knew they would be good, but both of them were surprised by just how good. Despite yesterday's underwhelming performance leaving him in fourth, today's performance had bumped him up to presumably second place, edging out Malcolm Fade and another skater to put Alec just behind Meliorn. It was unlikely that Meliorn wouldn't be able to hold onto the lead but it was still an impressive jump and would do wonders to quell any rumors of Alec being a one trick pony in the media. 

Alec again insisted on staying to watch Meliorn, who unsurprising was a sight to see. Still it became obvious to both student and teacher that had Alec been at the top of his game for the short program he would have stood a real chance at first for the second competition in a row. 

In the end Alec took silver at the Rostelecom Cup. It was by a respectable margin, Alec falling four points behind Meliorn, but it was still frustrating. Magnus watched as Alec accepted the medal with a smile but he could see that Alec was feeling the frustration too. While it had been a long shot that Alec would come out on top having Meliorn win was just rubbing salt in the wounds. 

Meeting the Seelie Queen's eyes this time, Magnus tried to keep his expression conciliatory, giving away nothing. The woman most certainly saw through it and blew a kiss in his direction. Magnus fought down the rage that threatened to boil up on behalf of both Alexander and George, instead shooting her a smile and a nod of congratulations. 

Today Alec and Magnus faced the press together. They kept the questions about the attack to a minimum, telling the truth as everyone else knew it; they had been speaking with George about personal matters before he was attacked, Alec stayed with him until help arrived, and Magnus chased Kaelie down. They carefully refrained from commenting when asked what they thought Kaelie's motive was but Magnus did jump on the opportunity to discuss Alec's performance at the short program. 

"Alec is an incredible skater and he has a strong grasp on both of his programs," he explained. "Coming back to the stadium so soon after what we experienced was a shock and predictably knocked his focus off yesterday. Today he proved that he can and will hold up against any number of skilled skaters at the Grand Prix Final." 

"Do you think you have a chance against Meliorn, who beat you today and has come close to beating your coach in the past?" came a question directed at Alec. Magnus looked at him with a worried expression, hoping the questions wasn't going to cause a problem. 

Instead Alec simply smiled and said, "Of course I have a chance against Meliorn. You all heard Magnus, I was off my game yesterday. My head wasn't on straight after what happened and it took until today to refocus myself. I'm fairly certain I would have taken gold today had yesterday gone the way it should have." 

Magnus held back a smile. He could seriously get used to confident Alec. 

When the press conference was over Alec and Magnus met up with Jace at a local restaurant to celebrate. Magnus was the most familiar with Russian cuisine and ordered for them, and while he picked pretty accurately for Alec he missed the mark entirely for Jace by failing to explain what to expect flavor wise from the borscht soup. Seeing Alec nearly choke from laughter as Jace tried to rub the taste off of his tongue with a napkin after the first massive spoonful was worth the inevitable retribution Magnus had come to expect when it came to the Lightwood family. 

After parting ways with Jace later that night, Alec and Magnus packed their belongings for the flight back to Albany the following day. They had already changed their flights to accommodate the extra week but they both wanted to get back as soon as possible. 

Finally they were packed, showered, and dressed for bed, and Magnus took the opportunity to talk to Alec about the day. 

"So," he began, "you wanna explain what happened today?" Alec quirked his head adorably as he climbed into bed and sat propped up against the headboard. 

"What do you mean?" he asked. 

"I mean was it really just a good day, or did something happen to help you focus?" Magnus clarified. Alec's eyes widened in understanding and he shot his coach a rueful smile. 

"You don't miss a thing do you," he chuckled. When Magnus patiently waited for him to go on, he did. "I realized yesterday while Meliorn was skating where I had gone wrong. I looked up and saw George watching, with that bandage around his head and people standing by to make sure he didn't pass out or get attacked again. I came to the conclusion that while it was really shitty that you and I were being threatened, and that George took the fall for it, I had to think about the fact that I was lucky. Lucky to be able to skate, lucky to have you as my coach, lucky to be at this competition no matter what was going on around me." 

"So today that's all I thought about. When Meliorn and the Seelie Queen showed up, instead of letting their schemes and intentions get to me I thought about how lucky I was to have the chance to skate today. Yesterday I overthought every move of my short program because I was so focused on not focusing on them that I ended up circling back around. Today I just let it go." 

Magnus climbed onto the bed and sat in front of Alec, who had pulled his legs up to his chest. He pulled Alec in for a kiss and ran a hand through his hair. 

"Have I mentioned yet how amazing you are?" Magnus mused when he pulled back. Alec giggled. 

"Can't hurt to hear it again, right?" he replied. Magnus hummed and pressed a soft kiss to Alec's nose.    
"You're amazing, Alexander," he whispered. 

Alec sighed and pressed their foreheads together. "Doesn't mean I'm super happy about Meliorn beating me. In the end the Seelie Queen's plan kind of worked; Meliorn walked away with the gold medal." 

Magnus shrugged and turned to tuck himself and Alec under the covers. "Maybe, but with your scores today there's no way you won't be in the final. This is a long con, love. You can beat Meliorn, without a doubt, when all's fair. We just go in on our guard, you stay grounded, and you walk away from the final on top. That's where this is going to end, Alexander." 

Alec steadily met Magnus' gaze. Magnus couldn't figure out what emotion was reflected there, but then it was gone. 

"Alright," Alec said before turning on his side with his back to Magnus and turning off the light. He pulled Magnus' arm around him, slotting them together. 

"Then I'm looking all the more forward to it." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize this isn't late under the promise of every two weeks, but it did take longer than usual because I was 100% taken out by illness this last week. But I'm back on the grind and ready to wrap this story up! I'll let yall know at the end of the next chapter if there will be an epilogue, but I'm thinking I'll just make the last chapter extra long. We shall all see together.


	8. No Need to Say Goodbye

The Grand Prix Final came three weeks after the do-over Rostelecom. It should have been four, and most of the athletes had planned to have those four weeks to prepare, but there was nothing to be done. So two weeks after taking silver in Russia, Alec was on a plane headed for Japan, where he was skate in the final just a week later.  

It was going to be the most challenging competition of his life without a doubt. Not only were the best of the best gathered, Meliorn and his coach would once again be there to torment him. Blocking them out had worked once before; he only had to do it two more times. No big deal. 

Magnus had trained him hard during their time back in New York. Despite them now sharing a bed, and the occasional shower, their relationship hadn't changed much. Instead of high fives he got hugs; his cheek kisses had gravitated to land on Alec's lips. It was half of the reason that, no matter how hard the training got, Alec stilled enjoyed it. 

The other half was because this was what he had been waiting for. Skating at the Grand Prix Final is an honor in and of itself. Only the top skaters in the world even get the chance. Alec had been working towards that goal for as long as he could remember, so if rigorous training in the weeks leading up to the competition was going to give him the best chance, hammering out ever jumps and spin and hand gesture, then he was happy to do it. 

There was something else eating away at Alec at night though. While Magnus slept curled up at his side Alec could not let go of the need to put an end to the Seelie Queen. It had to be more than revenge- it had to be justice. There was no way to prove her involvement with George, but that didn't mean there wasn't another way…

Alec startled awake as the wheels of the plane hit the tarmac. Magnus was still out cold, his sleeping mask fixed in place and his head leaning on a neck pillow that was resting against Alec's shoulder. With a soft smile Alec shook his awake. 

"Wha…" Magnus started, but was cut off by a yawn. Alec laughed quietly and pressed a kiss to his cheek as Magnus tugged the sleeping mask off and rubbed his eyes. 

"Welcome to Japan," he said in reply as Magnus leaned over him to look outside. 

"Good lord, did I really sleep for the long?" he mused. 

"You didn't fall asleep until 15 hours into the flight," Alec pointed out. "The rest of the time you were bothering me." 

Magnus pressed a hand to his chest and gasped. "Bothering you? Why darling, if I had known you felt that way I would have just gone away, never to be heard from again." 

Alec rolled his eyes and tugged Magnus' face back to look at him. "Don't be so dramatic. I don't know what I'd do without you," he hummed. 

Magnus smiled softly at that and nuzzled into his palm. The lights in the cabin came up, signaling their time to depart the plane, and the moment was broken. 

Once they and their excessive numbers of bags were bundled in the car, Alec called his brother. Jace had stayed behind in the states but was planning to fly in with Simon from New York City the day before the competition. Magnus and Alec had asked to have a few days before the entourage arrived to get settled and start up their routine. 

They had landed pretty late at night but Alec was still dazzled by the sights of Osaka. He had somehow always missed the events in Japan when he was in juniors, and none of the Junior Grand Prixs he had participated in had been hosted in Japan. While he had been to Moscow once before in juniors, Japan was a new experience entirely. 

Magnus had not even tried to front and had gotten only one hotel room until the rest of their friends joined them. Clary was already somewhere in the building, as her junior final was held in tandem with the seniors. 

"Do you think Jace is going to survive the 24 hour flight with only Simon for company?" Magnus asked as he started taking their clothes out of their suitcases. Alec barked a laugh from the bathroom where he was setting their full sized hair products in the shower. 

"Do you think Simon will survive? I think Jace is at least as annoying, if not more so when he wants to be." 

"Touche," Magnus said. He entered the bathroom with another bag of toiletries, handing them to Alec. Alec sighed as he unzipped it. 

"Do you really need all of this just for a shower?" he complained. Magnus tutted and pat his student on the head. 

"Beauty is pain, my dear," he said, fully serious. 

The week leading up to the final was nerve wracking for Alec to say the very least. Magnus kept him focused, took him to the rink to get acquainted with the ice while avoiding the eye of media. Still, it was hard to miss the many articles and blogs talking about him. Sometimes they would talk shit about his skill. For the most part he could handle that; he knew how good he was and where he needed to improve. There was no one to prove that to but the judges. 

What was starting to get on his nerves were the many people talking about Magnus. Every day some think piece about Magnus' coaching ability was released. Sometimes they praised him, saying Alec wouldn't be nearly as good and on such a hot streak without Magnus' coaching. Even Alec could kind of believe that. 

Other times they blamed Magnus for his flawed short program in Moscow, and his low number of quads in both is programs. They would wonder why Magnus wasn't pushing him harder, why he wasn't taking advantage of Alec's natural talent.

That was what really got under Alec's skin. When he read things like that on twitter or facebook his first reaction was always to call a press conference and defend his coach. The first time he had said so Magnus had laughed hard enough to cry before gently removing the phone from Alec's hand and kissing him silly. Later he explained that people were people and they always needed something to write about. It was best to ignore it. 

The night Simon and Jace got in (both of them thankfully alive if a little worse for the wear) Magnus and Alec met up with them and Clary for dinner. They ate authentic Japanese cuisine, some of the best food Alec had ever had, and talked Clary and Alec's upcoming competitions.

"Do you know where you are going to put your next gold medal?" Jace asked Clary teasingly. Clary blushed a deep red and rolled her eyes.    
"I don't know. There are some great skaters this year. I'm lucky Ragnor decided to wait until next year for Tessa to start competing cause she's gonna be a challenge. Charlotte's skating though, and she snagged gold from me last year." 

"What about you, Alec," Simon mumbled around a piece of sushi. He swallowed and cleared his throat. "How you feeling about Saturday?" 

Alec set his chopsticks down and heaved a sigh. "Nervous?" he said. "Excited? Terrified? What's the right answer?" 

Magnus gently laid his hand on top of Alec's, still careful when they were in public until after the Grand Prix. "There is no right answer darling, just whatever you are honestly feeling."

"Well in that case… annoyed," Alec said with finality before picking up his chopsticks and digging back in. Magnus cocked his head to the side. 

"Annoyed?" Alec nodded as he slurped up a noodle. Once he had swallowed he elaborated. 

"I just wanted to compete this year. I wanted to go in with all the advantages I could give myself and that you could give me… and now there is extra security at the rink, security posted in the hotel hallways, media buzz constantly about the safety of the athletes- all because one coach and her skater didn't think they could win and didn't want to find out the hard way. I'm just…" Alec paused to take a breath and felt Magnus' hand on his shoulder. 

"I'm not angry, not really. Angry about what happened to George, yes, but it helps to know he's alright. Annoyed is the best word I can use because I just want things to be back to how they were and I know they can't be. I'm competing against him and that isn't going to change. I'm just hoping I can focus it productively instead of letting it throw me off balance." 

"You're allowed to feel that way, dude," Jace said, pointing a chopstick at his brother. "This whole thing had been complete bullshit. If Meliorn or the Seelie Queen would just make one move, just a little one, against you or Magnus they could be taken down. But no, they're being too damn careful now. Too bad they learned their lesson after somebody else got hurt." 

Magnus nodded sorrowfully and went back to eating. Alec, however, did not. He was looking just beyond Jace, his eyes contemplative and his mind seemingly working overtime for the remainder of the meal. 

After they were done they parted ways in the hotel lobby as Clary and Simon went to their room and Jace checked into his. Alec and Magnus went upstairs and started getting ready for bed. 

The next day was the last one before the competition and they had a long but well planned day ahead of them to make sure Alec was as prepared as he could possibly be. It was early for them to turn in but they both clambered under the covers as soon as they were showered and dressed. 

Magnus snuggled up against Alec's chest, pressing a kiss to his neck. 

"I'm sorry things went the way they did," he mumbled into Alec's neck. "I wish I could've done something to make this experience better for you." 

Alec sighed and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "None of this is your fault. I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you." 

Magnus hummed non committedly but decided not to argue, instead opting to cuddle in closer and close his eyes. 

"I'll see you tomorrow, love. One last day of training." 

Alec swallowed heavily and stared at the ceiling, his mind already racing. One last day of training. 

* * *

The final day before the short program was a disaster for Alec. He had woken up groggy, his head pounding, and no matter what he did the headache would not go away.  

Training was just awful. He was landing almost nothing with any amount of consistency, and the only quad he was pulling off even half the time was the loop. There were no quad salchows planned for either of his programs, but when Alec tried a few times just for practice he failed miserably. 

His mood carried through the whole day despite Magnus' reminder that a terrible practice doesn't mean he would have a bad performance. Maybe he was just getting the final kinks out and tomorrow he would blow everybody away. 

Alec went to sleep that night a bundle of stress and nerves. He knew the next day was the most important of his career so far, and in order for him to win he would have to do well in the short program. It was and always had been his weaker of the two, which hardly helped calm him down. 

Magnus was the only light through it all. He had put up with Alec's shitty mood like a champ, patiently telling him how to improve even when Alec didn't want to hear it. Alec really didn't believe he deserved him. 

The morning of the short program, Alec's headache was gone and he was feeling generally better. He could tell Magnus was relieved by his improved mood and rewarded his saintlike patience by requesting his coach join him for his morning shower, so long as they didn't get distracted and show up late. Magnus had happily agreed. 

They had been a bit late. Jace had once again complained but seemed to be in too good of a mood himself to really be mad. Alec could understand; Clary was skating today as well and it was the first time Jace would see her while they were… in whatever relationship they were in. 

Alec had plenty of time to stretch and get dressed upon arrival. He steered clear of most of the other skaters beyond the classic pleasantries so as not to run into Meliorn. A fair number of reporters had asked about the growing rivalry between the two stemming from Magnus, but so far Alec had been able to avoid any pictures proving any animosity and he would like it to stay that way. 

Keeping his head down and focused during the warm up, Alec only really noticed Meliorn skate by a few times. He supposed it was the best he could hope for, and kept his jumps to a minimum during his time. Fortunately it seemed like it was to be a good day, with Alec landing all of the jumps he attempted. 

Sitting with Magnus after the warm up, just the two of them hidden from prying eyes, was the most surreal experience of Alec's life. They were nestled on a bench, Alec's legs swung up into Magnus' lap and his head resting on his shoulder. The usual panic was bubbling somewhere below the surface, but listening to Magnus' steady breathing and focusing on the feeling of his hand on his back was successfully keeping it at bay. 

"Do you think I can do this, Magnus?" Alec whispered. His eyes were closed and his mouth was close enough to Magnus' neck for his lips to touch it as he spoke. He felt rather than heard the responding chuckle. 

"I wouldn't have dropped everything and moved to Day if I didn't think so," he stated. Alec allowed himself a smile before straightening up, his arms moving to wrap around Magnus' neck. 

"What happens afterwards, though?" he said smally. "Are you gonna go back to skating? We haven't really talked about it." Alec dreaded the answer, and this certainly wasn't the time to talk about the future, but he needed to know before he skated onto the ice just what he was fighting for. 

Magnus sighed and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. "Alexander, the last few months with you have been more fulfilling to me than the last few years of skating. I loved it, I conquered it. Now I need a new challenge. You gave me that challenge, and I could not be happier doing what I'm doing now." 

"So… you'll keep coaching me?" Alec asked with a growing smile. Magnus nodded, causing the smile to change to a bright beam. 

"You have Worlds coming up, darling. This is hardly the end." Alec crashed their mouths together in a hungry kiss, ignoring the way Magnus shook with laughter at his antics. He pulled away slowly and pressed their foreheads together. 

"One more question," he said slyly. Magnus raised an eyebrow. "Do I have to keep calling you my coach after tomorrow, or can we come up with a new title when we tell the press about us?" 

As confident as he was fronting, this was the question Alec had been longing to ask; what were they? He needed to know, because while he knew what he wanted to hear he wasn't sure it it was reciprocated. 

Magnus cupped his face in the hand not bracing himself on the bench and lovingly stroked his cheek. "I am yours, Alexander. Heart and soul, whatever you want to call it is fine with me. So long as you promise you're also mine." 

Alec nodded and swung a leg around so he was seated entirely in Magnus' lap. He wrapped his arms tighter around Magnus and pressed his lips to his ear. "I promise. I'm all yours." 

Magnus chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. The two stayed wrapped up in each other until they had to make their way back to the ice, which they did hand in hand. 

Alec stood, skate guards off, at the edge of the rink. He felt all of the eyes, both present and around the world, on him. More importantly he felt Magnus' hand on the small of his back, stabilizing him, grounding him in the moment. At the last second he turned to face his coach, revelled in the usual kiss on the cheek (hoping soon it could be on the lips) and then heard his name. 

"Alexander Lightwood from the United States," came the announcement, and Alec knew it was his time. He skated out to center ice, waving to the stands. Suddenly his eye caught a familiar face in the crowd. He beamed and blew George a kiss, a resurgence of purpose filling him as he struck his beginning pose. 

Yesterday had been rough. His routines hadn't been going the way he knew they should and he was in the place of panic that always snuck up on him. Today though. Today he felt the program in his bones. He had practiced for months, earned two medals on his way here, all so that he would have the chance to prove he deserved a place amongst the greatest skaters in the world. 

His jumps were flawless, the exact opposite of yesterday. He kept perfectly to his promised routine. His step sequence was tight and strong, not a step out of place. As he neared his quad loop he could feel it would be good, even as he launched himself into the air. 

Alec landed solidly on the ice. It had been perfect, and though he was blocking out the applause of the crowd he could feel the approval in the room. His heart was thundering as he geared up for his combination- a little shaky on the second landing but certainly nothing to take major points off for. 

As he neared the end of the short program Alec felt a twinge of sorrow. After all this time, this would be the last time he would skate this routine, at least in competition. He had retired programs in the past of course, but never one lovingly choreographed just for him by Magnus Bane. 

His thoughts were completely taken over by pure joy once he struck his final pose though, as he tuned back into the world and heard the roar of the audience. He doubled over, smile wide on his face, and heaved in his breaths. 

When he straightened he met the crowd with a smile and two armed waves, stooping briefly on his exit to pick up some flowers. He exited the ice directly into the waiting arms of his coach, who was laughing as he pressed a kiss to his hairline. 

"That was the best I've ever seen you do that program, Alexander. Really, really well done!" he laughed. Alec beamed and nodded excitedly, tugging his coach over to see his scores. 

They were better then good, better than great. Alec's short program scores had put him far ahead of anyone else, almost ensuring he would go into the free skate in first. Alec could not wipe the smile from his face as he settled in to watch the last three skater, including Meliorn. 

In the end he did have the best scores of the day. Meliorn had done well, coming in not far behind Alec, with Bat surprisingly coming extremely close to Meliorn's score- only one point behind. Alec gathered his stuff and texted Jace, telling him to head back to the hotel and order room service for them. Jace responded with a congratulations and a request to but a bottle of champagne on the tab despite Alec's rule about not drinking before a day of competition. Letting his good mood cloud his judgment, Alec allowed it. 

Just as they were about to leave, Alec caught sight of Magnus staring at something across the ice. Following his gaze, Alec felt his blood run cold. The Seelie Queen was standing with her skater, arms crossed and eyes dark. Meliorn seemed to be complaining to her, but she was clearly not listening. Instead she was looking dead in Magnus' eyes, her expression the definition of hatred. As if she could feel his eyes on her, she turned slightly to focus the energy of her stare on Alec, making him want to shrink. He couldn't seem to look away though. 

"Come on," Magnus grumbled, swinging Alec's bag over his shoulder and dragging Alec along.. "She's jealous, that's all it is. Jealous and upset her plan to get you out of the game failed." 

Alec nodded and fell in step behind Magnus, eyes downcast. He knew, logically, that she was still just trying to get into his head. That didn't mean she wasn't doing a pretty good job. 

Well, Alec thought, looks like I'll just have to put an end to that then. 

* * *

Magnus was, for lack of a better word, panicking. 

He was seated on a bench on the side of the rink as Alec warmed up. The crowds of media and spectators outside had been in full fan mode, desperate to be the first people inside to get good seats or break any and all news first. 

Yesterday had gone well. Alec was going into his better program in first place, a good number of points ahead of Meliorn, though not enough to be completely comfortable. The whole problem with Meliorn and his coach was still in the back of Magnus' mind too. The final look the Seelie Queen had thrown their way had not boded well for him, but she had not actually done anything threatening. Maybe they were in the clear. 

Alec was looking good as he gracefully sped around the rink, but only half of Magnus' attention was on him. The other half was focused on the Seelie Queen, seated primly on the other end of the ice, her eyes dutifully glued to her own skater. She had not once looked over at him, making Magnus all the more nervous. 

Ragnor and Cat were both fortunately present, giving Magnus something besides Alec to lean on. He had caught up briefly with Cat in Moscow but everything had been so crazy that he hadn't had much time to fill her in on all the developments in his life. He hoped he would have the chance while out celebrating after the competition was over. 

Ragnor was sitting with him now since none of his skaters were in the male senior division this year. He had a lot of juniors ready to move up, both men and women, and had one female single senior and Cat and her partner for doubles. When Magnus had asked him to come watch Alec he had kicked up his usual stink but Magnus could tell he was proud. 

"He looks good out there," Ragnor mused. Magnus shook his head to clear it and focused in again on Alec. Ragnor was right, he did look good today. Despite the high stakes he looked cool and collected, his eyes never wavering to glance at any of the other skaters. Magnus knew he was aware of both Meliorn and his coach, but you couldn't tell by looking at him. 

Magnus hummed in response. "He always looks good my friend," he responded. Ragnor rolled his eyes and picked at a nail. 

"Good enough to win?" he inquired. Magnus pursed his lips and turned to look his former coach in the eye. 

"I'm not allowed to bet, but I know where I would put my money," he said solemnly. 

And it was true. No matter if he logically thought Alec could win or not (although in this case he certainly had a sporting chance), he would always believe in him. He had learned his lesson about letting his doubts get in his Alexander's way, and there was no way he would let that happen again. 

"You've done good, Magnus," Ragnor sighed with a pat on his shoulder and a tiny smile. Magnus bit back a smile of his own and inclined his head in gratitude. 

"I appreciate the vote of confidence," he remarked. He glanced back to the ice to see Alec standing at the side, his eyes cast down and his chest heaving. WIth a frown he parted from Ragnor with a squeeze to the hand and made his way to his skater. 

"Are you alright, darling?" he questioned. Alec looked up with a start, his eyes blown wide until he registered who had suddenly appeared. 

"Uh, yeah," he breathed. He cleared his throat and straightened up, but Magnus saw the nervousness betrayed by a slight shaking in the hands as the clutched the wall. "Just nerves, you know?" 

Magnus nodded. "There's still a few minutes before the warm up is over, but we can take off now if you'd like-" 

"No, no. I want to finish this one," Alec interrupted. He was turned away from Magnus, staring out at something on the ice. "Would you uh, find finding Jace for me? I'd like to see him before it's my turn." 

Magnus frowned slightly. Alec had never asked to see Jace once they parted ways before, but he guessed it made sense. Most important competition of his life and all. 

"Sure, of course. I'll be right back," he said. Alec turned back to look at him again, and to his surprise pressed a kiss to his cheek. 

"Thank you," he whispered, then pushed off the wall and continued his warm up. 

Magnus shook his head in confusion but headed into the hall leading from the floor to where Jace might be. He had said something about watching Clary's short program, but there was no way he would miss Alec and thus had to be nearby. 

He pulled out his phone and shot a text asking Jace where he was. While he waited for a response he made his way up to where he would most likely be; the seats that had the best view of the entirety of the ice so that he could catch all of Alec's program on video. 

Once he was up he walked out among the seats, pulling the hood of his jacket up to avoid being recognized. He scanned the seats in search of Jace's blonde hair but came up with nothing. He then felt his phone buzz, and was relieved to see a text from Jace saying he had slipped out to grab a water but was headed back to his seat. Magnus responded with the request for him to join Magnus at the skater's entrance to the floor so Magnus could get him in to see Alec. 

Magnus turned around to view the ice from above for a moment, eyes peeled for Alexander. He swept his gaze across the entirety of the rink, suddenly feeling apprehensive. 

Alec wasn't there. His usual black and green jacket was nowhere in sight, despite the limited number of skaters still out there. Fear slowly rising in his chest as he made note of everyone else that was on the ice as well. Bat Velasquez, Malcom Fade, a few others… 

Meliorn was nowhere to be seen. Neither, upon panicked inspection, was his red-haired demonic coach. 

Magnus pushed himself off of the rail he had been leaning on, shouldering his way past the crowd and hurrying back down to the floor. Jace was there, arms crossed with a frown on his face when he registered Magnus' panic. 

"Woah dude, what's going on?" he asked. Magnus flashed his badge and grabbed Jace's arm with a quick "He's with me," before dragging him to the edge of the rink. 

"Tell me you see your brother," he demanded, his knuckles white as they gripped the edge. Jace scowled and looked out onto the ice, his expression turning to confusion as he came to the same realization as Magnus. 

"No, I don't actually. Why, do you not know where he is?" Magnus gulped. 

"Who else isn't out there, Jace?" he continued. Jace hadn't looked away from the ice yet and he narrowed his eyes, clearly trying to think through who was supposed to be there. The moment he figured it out was apparent on his face as his confusion turned to horror. 

"Holy shit," he whispered. He turned to Magnus and grabbed his arm. "We have to find them!" 

Magnus frantically scanned the room, looking for any sign of them. There was nothing at all, as though the three had managed to disappear in the time he was upstairs looking for Jace. 

"I don't like it, but I think we should split up," Magnus whispered, leaning in so as not to alert anyone else. The time for warming up was ending, meaning the competition would begin soon. "I'm going to text Ragnor and have him cover the west side of the building. You take the south side, I'll head north." Jace nodded vigourously and pulled out his own phone. 

"I'll tell Simon to check the east, he'll be able to slip away from Clary for this," he said and then hurried in the direction he had been told without drawing too much attention to himself. 

Magnus straightened and tried to nonchalantly wander over to the north side of the building. He shot Ragnor the text and made eye contact with him from across the ice. Ragnor nodded once, his eyes wide and shocked, and took off as well. 

The rink in Japan was beautiful but it was also old. Unlike in Russia, where the more modern layout had consisted of simple passages and staircases, the Japanese rink felt like a maze. Magnus ducked into every door he came across, but the many splits in hallways kept making him feel like he was losing precious time. Many doors led to more halls as well, and there was no way to know when Meliorn or Alec had to be out on the ice from in here. 

And then Magnus felt his phone go off in his pocket. He reached for it and felt his heart stop at the caller ID; a video call from SImon. Even as he answered it, Magnus started frantically trying to find his way back to the floor so he could get to where Simon had been told to go. 

The phone connected and the sight he was met with was like that of a nightmare. Simon was clearly hiding behind something in one of the many hallways of the building. Alec was facing the camera, hands raised in the defensive positions. It was clear that the people he was facing off against were the Seelie Queen and Meliorn. 

Magnus immediately muted his side of the call so as not to expose Simon. He tumbled out onto the floor, his eyes darting up and down from screen to his surroundings as he plunged into the east side of the building in search of Alec. 

He could barely make out what was being said over the din of the rink, especially as the first skater was introduced to the ice. He strained to hear, keeping the phone close to his ears instead of looking at it as he scanned every hallway. 

"-no proof of anything, Lightwood," he heard Meliorn spit. "You can't be thinking of blackmailing your way out of this, can you?" 

"Hardly," Alec replied, his voice steady. "Blackmail would be too lenient for you people. Besides, isn't that what got Magnus in hot water with you in the first place?" 

"Oh please, like you know anything about that," came the bone chillidng voice of the Seelie Queen. "It was just as much to save face for him as it was to get revenge on Camille. Because of him I lost the trust of a lot of sponsors and one of the best contracts I've ever had."   
"Good motive, but you realize this whole thing has still been blown a bit out of proportion, right?" Magnus felt a smile growing on his face despite the worry he was feeling. Clearly Alec was more in charge of the situation that he had feared, if the tone of his voice was anything to go by. 

"Was it worth it?" Alec continued. The Seelie Queen laughed. 

"I'll admit it could have, and should have, gone much better. The plan was so completely flawless. Too bad Kaelie is more of a moron than I had hoped." 

"Was it just me, or where you aiming for Magnus too?" Alec asked, voice booming through the speaker. 

"It hardly mattered. I told Kaelie whichever one was easier, whichever she could pull off. Both would have the same effect; you would either be out of the game and Magnus would be heartbroken, or you would be too devastated to skate and Magnus would be dead." 

Magnus winced at the confirmation of their fears and picked up the speed, checking down yet another empty corridor. No matter how confident Alec sounded he did want to get to him and make sure he was safe. 

"That is truly fulfilling to hear. Thank you for your honesty," Alec laughed. The Seelie Queen scoffed. 

"Do you think you knowing this will mean anything? You still cannot prove it, your word against mine. Besides, I know you already knew all of this." 

"That's true," Alec hummed, "but you didn't think I would request this little chat without some level of insurance, did you?" Magnus' heart soared- Alec had had a plan!   
"Oh, do you mean the phone in your pocket that has been recording this whole conversation?" 

Shit. 

"Meliorn slipped it out on our way here. Didn't you know?" Magnus took the phone from his ear to watch as Alec patted his pants pocket, a look of horror dawning on his face. 

"You have nothing, Alexander Lightwood," the Seelie Queen continued as she took Alec's phone from Meliorn and threw it to the ground, crushing the glass with her heeled boot. Alec had gone pale. 

"And now there are no witnesses. Meliorn, get out of here. I don't want any blood getting on your costume before you perform," the Seelie Queen growled. 

Magnus busted open one final door and came face to face with Meliorn, who was just leaving.  Behind the surprised skater stood the Seelie Queen, holding a knife, head turned to face Magnus with a look of shock. 

And just beyond her stood Alec, looking even paler than he had in the video. Magnus had never seen a more beautiful sight. 

"Oh thank goodness," came a voice from a stack of crates labeled 'chairs' slightly pushed off of the wall. Out crawled Simon, his phone still on the video call. "I was getting worried I was going to have to be the hero and I don't think anyone wanted to see that at all." 

"Don't move!" screeched the Seelie Queen. She had hurried over to Alec while everyone was focused on Simon and quickly held the knife to his throat. "Come on step closer and I swear I'll kill him Magnus!"

"You don't move!" Magnus replied indignantly, snatching the still stunned Meliorn by the arm and pulling him to hold him by the neck. "Do anything stupid and I will start punching. I have a lot of very pointy rings on and he would not make it out without a few cuts and bruises!" 

"That's the best you got, dude?" Simon whined, resting his phone on one of the crates and sitting down on another one.

"Destroy that phone," the Seelie Queen ordered. Simon blinkd owlishly and grabbed the phone, holding it to his chest. 

"No way!" he exclaimed. 

"Do it, or I kill him. You could have recorded the whole thing on there!"

"Do you still think you can get away with this?" Alec asked incredulously. 'You are literally holding a knife to my throat with two witnesses!"   
The Seelie Queen was looking crazier with every passing moment. "There won't be any witnesses by the time I'm done with you. And go ahead, Magnus. Meliorn doesn't need a pretty face to skate." 

Magnus felt Meliorn swallow against the hand on his throat and released him with a sigh, putting his hands above his head in surrender. Meliorn scrambled away and met his eye for a brief moment before stumbling out of the door. 

"I'm not you," Magnus sighed, "and I will not stoop to your pathetic level. What do you want so you will finally leave us alone?"

"First," she breathed, "I want you to destroy the phone." Magnus walked slowly over to Simon's phone and took his from him. 

"I'll buy you a new one," he whispered. Simon had sobered once Meliorn had run out and now was looking at Magnus with growing fear. Magnus lifted the phone above his head and slammed it to the floor, crushing it further with his foot. 

"Good, good. Now. Alec is going to go out on the ice, and he's going to fail," the Seelie Queen giggled hysterically. "Meliorn is going to be at the top of the podium, and Alec won't even place. If he does I swear to you this will not be over, and it will never be over. Am I being clear?" Magnus nodded solemnly, starring Alec directly in the eyes as he did so. 

"Yeah," Alec croaked out from around the blade being held to his throat, "loud and clear." 

"Same goes for if any of you breathe a word of this to another soul, understand? Because I swear I will-"

"Police, drop your weapon!" 

Magnus spun around to see several Japanese police several ISU security guards pilling into the hallway. Magnus turned back to see the Seelie Queen throw the knife to the ground and sink to her knees, the expression on her face one of dismay and anger.

"Magnus!" Alec laughed as he ran across the space between them and leapt into his arms. Magnus nuzzled into Alec's neck, breathing him in with a shaky breath. 

"Never do that to me again, do you hear?" he whispered into Alec's ear. He felt the other man chuckle and the hold around his neck tightened. 

"I'll endeavor to do my best," he replied. He pulled back at the sight of something behind Magnus. 

"Jace," he sighed and ran to give his brother, who was standing in the main hallway outside of the door, a hug. 

"Good timing?" Jace mused with a smug look on his face. Alec rolled his eyes. 

"You couldn't have cut it much closer, really." 

"I can't believe you found us!" Magnus exclaimed as he too wrapped Jace in a hug of gratitude. 

"He had help, you know," came a voice from behind them. Magnus shook his head ruefully and pulled Ragnor in for another hug. 

"We got the video call from Simon," Jace began, "so we both immediately took off to where he had gone. We didn't run into you Magnus because we ran into each other first and stopped to alert security, who called the police. We kept our eyes on the situation, but waiting for the whole squad to show up wasted a lot of time." 

"But then we ran into some unexpected assistance," Ragnor added. He gestured to where a small group of police were standing. Much to the other three's surprise, there stood Meliorn, his hands in cuffs. 

"We saw him in the video and we knew before it went dark that he had gotten out. We saw him peeling down this hallway and we grabbed him, demanded he tell us where you were. Really he was quite cooperative given the situation." 

Alec sighed with frustration, leaning into Magnus' side. ""It's too bad she busted my phone though. They both said said some crazy shit. It would be great to have that evidence." 

"Well you may not have all of it, but you have whatever Simon caught with the video call," Jace said with a smirk. He pulled out his own phone and opened his videos. 

"I recorded the whole thing from my end, from the moment I answered to the moment it cut out. That should be enough, right?" 

Magnus threw his head back and wrapped his arms around Alec, finally feeling fully relieved. He watched as the Seelie Queen was lead away in handcuffs, Meliorn right behind her, her eyes full of hate that he knew she could no longer act on. 

"Yes, Jace. I think that's just enough."

* * *

The following day the free program was held, this time for real.

The day before had been cancelled due to the kidnapping and arrest that had taken place. Magnus heard the official story from Alec as he was explaining it to the press. 

Apparently Alec had distracted Magnus with his request to see Jace, something he then turned and apologised to Magnus for. He then skated up to Meliorn and demanded they have a chat before the competition started and told him to follow. 

Things had taken a turn then, for as soon as Alec was off the ice, plan hatched, the Seelie Queen had come over and held a knife to his side, explaining that she loved the idea of having a chat but that she would be the one in charge. 

She had forced him to the hallway where they had been found, Meliorn hot on her heels, and had proceeded to threaten him to drop out of the competition or have Magnus suffer the consequences. Alec tried to get the whole thing back on track and managed to get her confession recorded on his phone, but she had broken it and thought she got away with it. 

The rest Magnus was familiar with, but he listened in awe as Alec retold it. It really did sound like an epic adventure when he wasn't living it. 

Afterwards they had had to give their official statements to the police, and Jace had handed over his phone as evidence. Back at the hotel everyone had passed Magnus' phone, the only still intact or in their possession, and called anyone important to fill them in. 

Alec had been screamed at loudly by his sister for trying to be a super sleuth and dish out vigilante justice on his own. Magnus had been feeling the same way, but decided Isabelle's wrath was enough for Alec to handle for one night. 

They had gone to bed positively giddy after Alec had again apologized for worrying Magnus with his hairbrained schemes. 

"It's alright, love," he replied. "What matters is that tomorrow you are going to skate without the threat of the Seelie Queen looming over you. I wish it could have been solved more easily, but it is what it is." 

Alec had also called George and explained that the Seelie Queen had confessed and that she would be properly punished for what happened to him in Moscow. George had been confused but overjoyed, thanking Alec for his bravery. 

"You wouldn't have even been in harm's way if it wasn't for me," Alec had admitted begrudgingly. George had simply laughed warmly on the other end of the phone. 

"Don't blame yourself Alec, none of this was your fault. You better watch out next year though, I'm gonna come back bigger and better!" 

Alec had laughed with him and ensured him he was looking forward to it, truly meaning it. 

Sleep had come easily despite the left over excitement of the day. Skating was still a sport, and it was exhausting. Alec slipped into oblivion with a smile on his face and his arms tightly wrapped around his lover. 

At the free skate, Magnus and Alec both were bouncing with raw energy. They had brought all of their friends down to the ice before warm ups, including the soon to be junior women's champion Clary, who had come light years ahead of her competition in her short program. They met early so they could all split up for their day, with Cat and Ragnor gearing up for her duo performance. 

"You're going to do great, Alec," Clary had said with a brief hug and a wink. "I always knew you would." 

"So will you," Alec said with a smile.

"Indeed. If Magnus had to quit the sport, I'm glad it was for a worthy cause," Ragnor sighed, causing Cat to elbow him in the ribs. 

"Don't back-hand compliment the boy, he's incredible and you know it," she admonished before turning to Alec. "You don't need luck out there today. Do what's in your heart and it will be perfect." 

Alec blushed deeply and nodded with a smile. The three of them and Simon turned to head off, Alec and Jace turning to head to the locker rooms. Just as Simon was about to walk away, Magnus grabbed his sleeve. 

"I didn't get the chance to thank you yesterday," he stated. Simon frowned.

"For what?" 

"You snuck in and got us all on that video call. You saved Alec's life, and got the evidence to put the Seelie Queen away. You're a real hero, Simon." 

Simon blinked at Magnus, his mouth falling open as Magnus pat him good-naturedly on the back. "You called me Simon," he muttered. 

Magnus turned to walk away, throwing a quick, "What's that, Sergio?" over his shoulder, though he did catch the dawning realization on Simon's face that maybe Magnus had been playing him all along. 

Magnus found Jace and Alec on a video call with Izzy as Alec started his stretches. He waved from where he stood behind Alec but refrained from getting involved in the conversation, prefering to witness the siblings interact. 

Warm ups zipped by, and their time alone went even faster. Magnus stood with his hand nearly crushing Alec's as he removed his skate guards with his other hand and passed them over. Alec turned to face him, his face alight with excitement. 

"Keep your eyes on my, yeah?" he murmed between them as Magnus pressed his customary kiss high on his left cheek. 

"I always do, love," he murmured into the skin. 

Magnus watched as Alec flawlessly began his program. The theme was so clear in every move, every emotion on his face. There was so much more to it now, and there wasn't a lost moment on the ice. 

The step sequence was clean without so much as a toe out of place. His first few jumps were also perfect and Magnus knew Alec could win this. 

Then his second quad came up in the routine, a quadruple toe loop. It was an easy one, Alec had mastered it long ago. But as Magnus watched him gear up for the jump he came to the realization that no, that's not how you enter a… 

Alec launched into the air, changing his program at the last moment to include Magnus' signature jump, and the move that had plagued Alec throughout the season- the quad salchow. 

His landing was messy. He was off balance and he got close to falling, but he managed to keep on his feet with a smile. Despite still being in the middle of his program he sought out his coach's eye and shot him a cheeky wink. 

Magnus could physically feel his heart melting. Alec knew he didn't have that jump down; it was why it hadn't been in either program. But for some reason he had decided to do it at the last second…

To Magnus it was nothing short of a declaration of love. 

Alec finished his program to the shouts of an adoring crowd. Somewhere in the back of his mind Magnus registered that if Bat had gotten stellar scores, even with the distance between them yesterday, there was a possibility Alec's decision had cost him the gold medal. 

But Alec didn't look upset, even though Magnus knew he was aware of his mistake. He skated off of the eyes and stood in front of Magnus, his eyes shining and chest heaving. 

"How was that, coach?" he teased with a grin. 

Magnus swallowed heavily and wrapped an arm around his waist. 

"I think you know," he replied hoarsely. He wiped at his nose in embarrassment as he realized he had teared up.

Alec reached out and wiped away a tear. "I'm not super great with words, but I've been told I'm a pretty good skater," he said with a nervous chuckle. "And I mean, skating for you worked last time-" 

"I love you too, Alexander," Magnus cut him off. He watched in awe as Alec's eyes met his, the shock and happiness evident. "I really, really do." 

Alec took silver at his first senior Grand Prix FInal. Bat was exceptional on the ice that day, the best he had ever been, and broke his own record by several points. Alec had done extremely well, but the small deductions throughout his program had been enough compounded with his failed salchow to cost him the gold by only one point. 

Alec wasn't upset as he took the podium. Bat had run up to him and hugged him as soon as it was announced, his extremely sportsmanlike attitude making it hard to take any offense. Besides, Alec could admit that he had been outskated fairly today. 

He also couldn't bring himself to regret his decision as he sat down with the press following the medal ceremony. He had skated not just for himself, but to once again send a message to Magnus Bane, this time knowing he was listening. 

"Alec, do you plan to compete at Worlds next year?" one reporter asked. 

"Most definitely. I'm going to bring my A game too," Alec said with a cheeky grin. 

"Magnus, are you retiring completely from skating to become Alec's full time coach?" 

"If you really must pry, I am retiring," Magnus stated into the mic. "Alec needs me more than the competition does. Clearly there's room for improvement here," he teased. Alec rolled his eyes and shoved him playfully on the arm. 

"Can you tell us anything more about the arrest of Meliorn and his coach yesterday?" came another voice. 

"Well, we assume they will pay for their crimes. Everything we know was already said to the press yesterday. It was an unfortunate situation, but you know what they say. Cheaters never prosper," Magnus answered. 

"Alec, why did you change your jump today to a jump you don't have a strong grasp of yet?" Alec rested his chin on his fists and knitted his brow as if in deep contemplation. "Call it hubris, I suppose. As much as I loath to say it, Magnus is right. I still have a lot to learn and I'm very glad it will be with him." 

"Are the two of you going to address the rumors about your relationship? You seem very close, some people claiming you share a hotel room, not to mention the rinkside kisses. Is there anything there?" 

Alec glanced at Magnus, who was leaning on his elbows on the table. He raised an eyebrow at Alec and shot him a little smirk. From just beyond Magnus, in the wings of where they were holding the press conference, Jace, SImon, and Clary were all gathered. Jace had his arm around Clary's waist, and all three of them were beaming at him, Simon shooting him a thumbs up.

"No need to talk about rumors, sir," Alec said as he turned back to face the room of microphones and cameras. "Because they are a little bit more than rumors." He gestured to Magnus, who rolled his eyes and picked up where he left off. 

"I'm terribly in love with Alexander Lightwood," Magnus stated simply. "And I'm fairly certain he feels the same." 

The reporters immediately all began shouting over one another, follow up questions flooding in. Alec looked at Magnus and reached out to grab his hand on top of the table. 

So he didn't take home gold this year. There will be more years, more competitions. The winter olympics were just around the corner too, and Alec now had a good shot at being in them. There was so much time, and so much to be done. 

Looking at Magnus, staring into the same gorgeous eyes that he had fallen for back when he was eight years old- yeah. He still felt like a winner. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And just a few days short of a month, the story comes to an end. Now I have time to watch the actual Olympics! Thanks for reading, I hope this last chapters fulfills the story for your. I've had so much fun writing this one, and if anyone has any suggestions for future projects, hit me up!


	9. The Road is Long, We Carry On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!  
> At the request of a reviewer for some media reaction to the big announcement at the end of the story here's a little bonus chapter. Luckily I am a journalism student so this was an interesting project to take on. Enjoy!

**International Spotlight: The Lightwood-Bane Love Story in the Media**

The world of figure skating was treated to a bit of true celebrity fever when the legendary Magnus Bane and his protegee Alexander Lightwood announced they were in a romantic relationship following last year's Grand Prix Final.

Reaction from the world varied from mortification at the mainstream coverage of a homosexual relationship to celebration by many for the same reason. Bane has long considered himself bisexual and has never been shy about that fact. Little was known about Lightwood's sexuality before the press conference, though it has since been confirmed that he identifies as gay.

We sat down for an interview with the two skaters to gauge how they've felt about the past year in the limelight. Lightwood addressed accusations that he had kept his sexuality a secret while gaining traction in the skating community.

"When I was much younger, the first few years in juniors, I wasn't ready to tell anyone that I was gay. As I got older and came to accept it, the question just never came up. I tend to be a pretty private person," he said.

Many had speculated throughout the Grand Prix series about the nature of the relationship between coach and student. Rumors swirled, with evidence of their being in a relationship stemming from reports that they shared a hotel room, and the peculiar (though sweet) custom of Bane kissing Lightwood on the cheek before sending him out to skate.

Others argued that Bane had always been affectionate with those around him in the past. It was notable to many that his closest friends, including fellow skaters Catarina Loss and Raphael Santiago, and his former coach Ragnor Fell, refrained from answering any questions on the subject until after the two had made their announcement.

"Alec wanted the media to refrain from reporting on us as a couple while he was in his debut season," Bane said in our interview. "We asked all of our friends to avoid those questions until we were ready to answer them ourselves."

Critics of the couple's relationship range in views. Some are the usual factions of extreme conservatives claiming homosexuality is inherently wrong and that exposing people to it is damaging to the national mindset. Others simply seem to think that the portrayal of a homosexual relationship on the international platform of figure skating is politicizing the sport and detracting from its integrity. Mr. Lightwood weighed in.

"The bottom line is that Magnus and I are dating. We were dating back before anybody knew about it, and we are still dating now. There are no rules in the ISU against dating your coach, male or female. We are not trying to politicize anything- our lives simply happen to be in more of a spotlight than many others," he said.

The majority of the skating community, and the international community at large, seem to have done little as of yet in retaliation to the couple. What Mr. Lightwood said is true; there are no rules in place prohibiting a relationship (heterosexual or otherwise) with one's coach. While many places around the world still take issue with same-sex couples there has been little backlash beyond defamation in some media outlets.

Other people have reacted to the news in a much more positive way. The couple discussed the outpour of support from the skating community, especially both Bane's and Lightwood's extensive fanbases.

"It's hard to listen to the hate we get sometimes, but for every venomous word there were ones of encouragement coming in from around the world. It was truly humbling to hear from fans. Some of them told us that we were an inspiration to them in their own lives, either about their sexuality or their passion in life," Lightwood said.

The names Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood were also in the news last year for a myriad of other reasons. For months, the highly decorated Bane (4 Grand Prix golds, 3 World Championship golds, 1 Olympic gold) disappeared both from the public and private eye. Lightwood had gone viral on his brother's Youtube channel for skating a program performed by Bane over ten years before nearly to perfection, but for a long while no one knew the two events were connected.

It came out after Worlds that Bane had left behind his life in London and moved to Lightwood's hometown in upstate New York to become his coach upon seeing the video, shown to him by junior skater and daughter of Bane's assistant coach Clarissa Fairchild and her friend Simon Lewis. Lightwood was already a decorated skater in the junior division under the coaching of Luke Garroway,  but had missed his scheduled senior debut the previous year due to a season ending injury.

With a beautiful pair of programs choreographed by his new coach, Lightwood snatched his first senior gold at the Cup of China, much to the shock of the skating community. The media had been conservative about the chances he had for winning, or even making it to the podium, due to his recent injury and inexperienced coach. Following his win opinions quickly changed, with top skating experts giving the team exceptional odds at their next competition in Moscow.

The duo's story only increased in intrigue when they were first on the scene of the now infamous attack of George Lovelace at the Rostelecom Cup. Bane was the one to capture the assailant, junior figure skater Kaelie Whitewillow, while Lightwood was the first at Lovelace's side and stayed with him until paramedics arrived.

While Lovelace has since recovered from his injury and is back on the ice this year for his own second run at a senior debut, the attack clearly affected Lightwood at the time. The competition was pushed to the following weekend, where his short program was underwhelming and led many in the media to think his gold in China was a fluke. He managed to refocus for the following day's free program and walked away with a silver medal.

The next part most people, fans of skating for not, are at least familiar with; the scandal at last year's Grand Prix Final. We asked for a quick rundown of what led to the events of that day.

"The basics are this; my relationship with former skater Camille Belcourt led to her quitting the sport, losing her coach, the Seelie Queen, a major contract and competitor. She never forgave me for that, despite the reason there was a problem between Camille and I being out of my control. She decided to take her revenge not on me, but on Alec, and now she is rotting in jail for her crimes," Bane said.

At a press conference the day of the incident,  the duo explained that the attack on Lovelace had been orchestrated by the Seelie Queen and her skater Meliorn, who took gold over Lightwood in Moscow. On the second day of the final, Lightwood enacted a dangerous scheme to get a confession from the Seelie Queen that only succeeded with the last minute help of Bane, Lightwood's brother Jace, Bane's former coach, Ragnor Fell, and mutual friend Simon Lewis.  

"I realize now that it was a bad idea to take her on by myself in Japan. Magnus hasn't let me live it down yet. Still, I wouldn't do it differently if I had the chance. Justice was served," Lightwood said.

In the end, Lightwood took home the silver at the Grand Prix Final, coming in behind the winner, Bat Velasquez, by just one point due to a last minute change in program where he switched a quad loop for his coach's signature quad salchow.

"I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to land the salchow, but it was more about sending a message than it was about winning," said Lightwood.

"The message was happily received," Bane added with a chuckle.

A year has elapsed since Lightwood's first Grand Prix, but the world has not forgotten. He won gold at his first World Championship this past April, and just days ago stood at the top of the podium at this year's Grand Prix Final.

"I've improved a lot since last year. Even without all of the distractions, I don't think I was quite ready to win gold then. Magnus worked me harder than ever before this past year. I insisted that we include a quad salchow in my free skate, and now I can land it about eighty-five percent of the time. It's still the worst quad in my arsenal though," Lightwood said.

Despite all of their combined accomplishments, the couple are still most widely known for their very open and public relationship. While they returned to Lightwood's hometown to train, an undisclosed location in upstate New York kept anonymous for the sake of privacy, the two were often spotted in Albany with Lightwood's brother Jace and sister Isabelle, who recently returned from studying ballet in Moscow.

"We like our privacy for training, but when we go out in public we don't mind a photo or two," Bane said. "We know we're in a spotlight, but we aren't afraid to show who we are and that we're happy."

We asked for a few final words about how they feel they've been portrayed and treated in the media.

"Well, there have been good moments and bad ones. Fortunately we are living in a world where the supportive voices are just as loud, if not louder, than the non-supportive ones. People leave their nasty comments on our Instagram pictures or Youtube videos, but that's not going to stop us from competing or going out in public together," Bane said.

Lightwood took it a step further.

"Magnus and I are a team, but we aren't alone. My brother and sister, Clary Fairchild and Simon Lewis, Catarina Loss and Ragnor Fell. They're our support system and I always know we can count on them. The fans are part of that too, along with all of the people in the media that have portrayed our relationship in a positive light. I think I have a tougher time ignoring the hate than Magnus does, but he's right when he says the good outweighs the bad, and for that I cannot be more grateful."

Lightwood will be back on the ice this upcoming March for the next World Championship, and will almost certainly qualify for the upcoming winter Olympic games. The couple have not yet announced any further plans in their relationship, although there was a single unexplained ring on Lightwood's left hand, a curious choice for the normally less bejeweled of the two.

Despite a start fraught with danger and intrigue, the Lightwood-Bane relationship has been going strong for over a year now. Media coverage of the phenomenon has been split nearly down the middle as far as approval, with some tearing them down for their show of same-sex love and others praising them for their courage and honesty. In the end, the two seem to be happy and successful together, both as coach and student and as lovers. Even though a year has passed since they first announced their relationship, hand in hand, it seems like the world won't soon be forgetting Alexander Lightwood and Magnus Bane.


End file.
